The company say that the new 55-T is able to protect large military transport aircraft such as the C-130, KC-390 and A400M from modern, radar-guided missiles.
It will join the Company’s existing BriteCloud 55 (for fighter aircraft using 55mm compatible dispensers such as the Tornado, Typhoon and Gripen) and BriteCloud 218 (for fighter aircraft equipped with square format dispensers, such as the F-15 and F-16).
According to a press release:
“The original drinks-can-sized ‘BriteCloud 55’ countermeasure is designed to protect fighter aircraft and uses a miniaturised Radio-Frequency (RF) jamming module to trick incoming radar-guided missiles into missing their intended target. BriteCloud 55 has been proven effective in extensive testing carried out with the UK Royal Air Force and is now in-service with the RAF on-board its fleet of Tornado GR4 aircraft.
Leonardo has since miniaturised the technology further to create the BriteCloud 218 product for fighter jets using 2x1x8 dispensers, such as the F-16.
Larger aircraft require a more powerful decoy in order to mask the larger radar return that they produce. BriteCloud 55-T has been developed to address this by generating a much more powerful ‘ghost’ radar signature, drawing even advanced radar-guided threats away from the transport aircraft.
The same size as BriteCloud 55, the 55-T variant will be able to fit into an aircraft’s standard 55mm chaff and flare dispenser, or fitted to a square format dispenser using an adapter magazine, with no further integration work required.”
