Leonardo has begun deliveries of the 'BriteCloud' countermeasure to the UK Royal Air Force for operational use of the new technology, following the formal green light from the UK Ministry of Defence. The countermeasure, among the most compact available on the market, will protect aircraft from modern radar-guided missiles and will be ready for use by Tornado GR4 crews in the short term. The RAF will be the first air force in the world to field this new protective technology.
The acceptance of the system follows a series of flight campaigns carried out by the RAF in the United States in June 2017, when dozens of BriteCloud devices were launched by the Tornado GR4 aircraft of the 41ma Squadron "Test and Evaluation" against high performance radar guide systems . The tests produced positive results that were subsequently subjected to an in-depth analysis by the Ministry of Defense at the UK Air Warfare Center and the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
Leonardo has worked since 2012 with the UK Ministry of Defense to develop a next generation electronic countermeasure, based on a project commissioned by the DSTL and jointly managed by the company and the Defense Equipment and Support - DE&S of the UK Ministry of Defense. Leonardo supported the development by directly investing significant resources to develop and build BriteCloud in its Luton-based electronic warfare center. At the end of 2017, the Ministry of Defense authorized the operational use of the technology.
The first systems will be delivered to the RAF in April. The speed with which the BriteCloud has moved from design to operational service is the result of Leonardo's close collaboration with the RAF's Rapid Capabilities Office, set up to ensure the faster introduction of new technologies. The development of the BriteCloud is consistent with Leonardo's 2018-2022 business plan, which provides for targeted investments in key technologies to support corporate growth.
The BriteCloud incorporates a sophisticated electronic radar jammer system in a case just a few centimeters long. The apparatus can be fired from a standard chaff and flare dispenser and released upon engagement by a modern radar-guided missile. Upon launch, the BriteCloud powers up and the automatic jammer produces a 'ghost' signal which inhibits enemy radar. The system is simple to use and effective in terms of protecting the aircraft where it is installed, even in situations where traditional "chaff and flare" countermeasures would be ineffective. The technology is generically called 'Active Expendable Decoy' (EAD): 'active' because of the electronic jammer and 'expendable' because the device is launched from the fighter jet in order to create a large 'miss distance' for a missile arriving.
OCEAN2020
Leonardo today also signed the financing agreement for OCEAN2020, the most important project related to the European Defense Fund tender on maritime security technologies, financed by the European Union and implemented by the European Defense Agency ( AND FROM). The latter will act as contracting authority, within the framework of the "Preparatory Action on Defense Research" programme. The signing took place at the European Commission in the presence of the European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Elzbieta Bienkowska, and Leonardo's CEO, Alessandro Profumo.
The project - which has a total value of around 35 million euros - will be led by Leonardo in the role of coordinator of a consortium made up of 42 partners from 15 EU countries. “OCEAN2020 will make it possible to promote technological research in a sector of great interest, such as maritime safety, which is highly topical for Europe and for the Mediterranean area in particular,” said Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo's CEO. "Our team won a competitive procedure thanks to a technologically innovative proposal of great strategic value, the result of an intense and effective collaboration between all the 42 partners of the consortium, whom I would like to thank for their important contribution".
Leonardo, within the same "Preparatory Action on Defense Research", was also selected for the GOSSRA project, coordinated by Rheinmetall, which aims to standardize soldiers' apparatus and equipment in order to improve interoperability during the joint operations conducted by the forces of EU countries. Today's signature represents further confirmation of the significant role played by Leonardo in European initiatives on security and defence. The company strongly supports the Commission's proposal to endow the European Defense Fund with a budget of €1,5 billion per year from 2021. Of this amount, around €1 billion per year will be dedicated to supporting defense capabilities and joint development of capabilities among EU countries. An amount of 500 million euros will instead be allocated to research activities, which are essential for the growth and competitiveness of the European defense industry.
Informative note
The OCEAN2020 project will make it possible to enhance and integrate remotely piloted platforms of different types (fixed wing, rotary wing, surface and underwater) with the command and control center of naval units, providing for data exchange via satellite with command and control centers to the ground. The joint and cooperative deployment of manned and unmanned platforms will also be demonstrated within the project. These innovative capabilities will be used for maritime surveillance and interdiction missions. OCEAN2020 also includes two real demonstrations of maritime surveillance and interdiction operations conducted by European fleets with the use of unmanned aerial, surface and underwater systems.
The first demonstration, scheduled for 2019 in the Mediterranean, will be coordinated by the Italian Navy, and involves the use of Leonardo's unmanned helicopters - Hero and Solo - both for operations conducted by Italian naval units and for activities in collaboration with the systems of other European partners. The second demonstration, which will take place in 2020 in the Baltic, will be coordinated by the Swedish Navy. The information and data obtained from the different systems in the context of these two demonstrations will be processed and sent to a prototype European command and control center located in Brussels.
