Leonardo launches the "BriteCloud 218", a new version of the BriteCloud electronic protection system, after the tests carried out with the F-16 fighters of the Danish Air Force. The new 218 model, named for its size (2 "x1" x8 "), is compatible with aircraft that use flare launchers of such sizes, such as the F-16 and the F-15. The BriteCloud 218, available together to the 55 mm variant, it is presented today in London on the occasion of the "Electronic Warfare Europe" event.
The BriteCloud is a radiofrequency device that is launched by an aircraft when it is facing radar-guided missile attacks. Once launched, it emits powerful pulses that create a false target and drive enemy missiles away from the plane. The system, much more effective than traditional chaff countermeasures, uses advanced electronic protection techniques capable of deceiving radars, protecting pilots from the most sophisticated modern missiles. Leonardo is the only company in the world to have successfully tested this type of system under operating conditions.
The market launch of the BriteCloud 218 follows tests carried out with an F-16 aircraft of the Danish Air Force. The new countermeasure is inserted directly into the standard fighter launcher, without having to perform any integration intervention. During the mission, the Danish aviation F-16 launched the BriteCloud 218 to respond to a real radar-guided surface-to-air missile. The test allowed us to collect the data necessary to complete the software and hardware adaptation of the current BriteCloud in the new and smaller format, the 218.
Leonardo has already successfully tested BriteCloud with the Royal Air Force (RAF) through a series of tests carried out with a Tornado aircraft. After the positive outcome of the tests, the RAF ordered a significant number of BriteCloud to develop an operating manual, the so-called CONOPS (CONcept of OPerationS), a passage that normally represents the last phase before the adoption of the system in real missions. The BriteCloud from 55 mm is also offered by the Swedish defense and security company Saab as optional equipment on all variants of the Gripen to enhance the aircraft's protection capabilities.
