Selex RF Decoy Selected For Gripen Jets

SAAB has selected SELEX’s BriteCloud Expendable Active Decoy (EAD) deployment on Gripen fighter, which has been developed in order to decoy RF-guided missiles and fire control radars away from fighter aircraft.

Flare shaped and sized, the EAD can be dispensed from a standard 55mm flare cartridge and powered by batteries. BriteCloud draws threats away from the host platform, generating large miss distances. BriteCloud has been already proven in tests and the system is scheduled for a number of qualification missions and flight trials to guarantee full operational capacity.

BriteCloud is the technological successor to previous generations of RF decoys such as repeaters and Towed Radar Decoys (TRD). When a pilot launches a BriteCloud, the decoy searches for and counters priority threats using advanced DRFM technology. Incoming radar pulses are received and the BriteCloud’s on-board computer copies these pulses and uses them to simulate a ‘false target’ so convincing that the threat system cannot detect the deception. By doing this, the BriteCloud can seduce even the most modern threats away from the platform.

As an off-board jamming device, BriteCloud avoids the ‘home-on-jam’ vulnerabilities of on-board devices and allows it to put significant distance between itself and the fighter after launch, minimising any risk of incoming missiles detonating close to the platform. Other benefits include savings in cost and training compared to other systems with each unit significantly cheaper than equivalent TRD technology and easy to use and store.

“We’re working with Saab towards flight tests of the BriteCloud on Gripen which are expected to take place in 2014,” said Pete Forrest, VP marketing and sales for electronic warfare at Selex ES.