The U.S. Navy is buying and undisclosed variety of BriteCloud Lively Expendable Decoys particularly for the F-35 Lightning II.
The Naval Air Techniques Command (NAVAIR) has awarded Leonardo UK a contract to produce the U.S. Navy with an undisclosed variety of BriteCloud decoys, designated by the navy as AN/ALQ-260(V) Anti-Missile Countermeasure. The event follows report earlier this yr and in 2024 about NAVAIR negotiating the procurement.
The Contract
A contract discover for Lively Expendable Decoy (AED) Procurement and Assist was revealed on U.S. Authorities’s platforms on Dec. 23, 2025. The award was labeled as a not aggressive, sole supply contract.
The discover mentions the contract “contains procurement of the AED, in addition to preliminary spare impulse cartridges and assist gear to supply required radio frequency countermeasure functionality to the Division of Protection (DoD).” The length “include a base yr and as much as one possibility.”
The worth of the contract and the quantity of decoys to be procured have been redacted from the discover. Nevertheless, earlier reporting urged the Navy was trying to procure as much as 6,000 AEDs.
NAVAIR defined the choice after a sources sought discover was revealed in 2024. Leonardo UK, Elbit America and Raytheon responded to the discover, “with insufficient responses acquired from BHPE LLC and Kastel Enterprises.” Nevertheless, “solely Leonardo can meet the Authorities’s speedy necessities within the timeframe required,” acknowledged the command.
Here’s a additional justification supplied within the contract discover:
“Award of this contract to any supply apart from Leonardo UK, LTD would lead to an unacceptable delay of eight years. Roughly 14 years of analysis and improvement have been accomplished by way of a partnership with Leonardo UK, LTD and UK Ministry of Protection (MOD) to develop and check the AED. These efforts embody laboratory {hardware} within the loop testing, software program improvement testing and validation, protected separation, and effectiveness testing to qualify the AED on the F-35. A brand new supply would require no less than 4 years to realize the specified product maturity, three years to qualify an alternate gadget and one yr for manufacturing readiness in preparation for a low-rate manufacturing line. The unacceptable delay calculation of eight years relies on subject material knowledgeable evaluation of historic info with fielding of comparable applied sciences. Any interruption in manufacturing would pose crucial setbacks to present schedules and fielding necessities. Primarily based on unacceptable delays, the Authorities has decided that Leonardo UK, LTD is the one accountable supply able to assembly the U.S. Authorities’s necessities. The efforts described herein can’t be carried out by a supply apart from Leonardo UK, LTD with out unacceptable delays in deliveries to the Fleet.”
This additional stresses Leonardo’s earlier descriptions by the service because the “solely contractor who possesses the manufacturing know-how, infrastructure, capability, and platform {qualifications} to finish all necessities” and ship the AEDs.
Necessities
As beforehand talked about, the AEDs are supposed to supply further Radio Frequency Countermeasure (RFCM) functionality to the plane, complementing those already fielded.
For example, the F-35 is provided with the BAE Techniques ASQ-239 onboard self-protection system, which additionally contains the ALE-70 fiber-optic towed decoy. Equipping the F-35 with BriteCloud considerably enhances the plane’s survivability, because the stealth jet will not be outfitted with chaffs, whereas it is ready to carry solely a restricted variety of ALE-70 decoys.
The April 2025 Sources Sought discover listed the factors that the contractor, now recognized as Leonardo, should meet:
2″ x 1″ x 8″ kind issue
Mission load programmable by the Authorities
Demonstrated RFCM efficiency functionality evaluated at TRL-9, outlined as: “Precise system confirmed by way of profitable mission operations”
Evaluated at MRL-9, outlined as: “Demonstrated Low-Fee Manufacturing functionality in place to start Full-Fee manufacturing”
Should be certified to be used on F-35 and prepared for speedy manufacturing
Should be certified and prepared to be used on F-18 and different USG platforms following a manufacturing determination
These necessities match the outline of BriteCloud 218, a smaller variant of the 55 mm cylindrical BriteCloud spherical which might match the two”x1”x8” U.S.-made chaff/flare dispensers, like the usual AN/ALE-47 countermeasure dispensers put in on many U.S. plane. The U.S. Air Nationwide Guard has issued a “fielding advice” for the decoy after the profitable completion of the Overseas Comparative Testing on the service’s F-16 Combating Falcon fighter jets in 2022.
The discover additionally talked about that the contract award was anticipated in November 2026, with deliveries set to begin “as early as 4 months, however no later than ten months after contract award.” The identical supply schedule applies to the choice years, and all AEDs should be “delivered inside 12 months of the primary supply in every interval.”
A complete of three,000 to six,000 AEDs will probably be procured per yr, along with “spare impulse cartridges, associated assist gear and repairs, and discipline service consultant assist.” The discover additionally talked about the F-35 has already “examined and built-in AED functionality, which resulted in a fielding determination,” whereas the choice for the F/A-18, probably referring to each the F/A-18-E/F Tremendous Hornet and EA-18G Growler, will probably be taken in 2027.
BriteCloud 218
In our 2021 exhaustive characteristic on the BriteCloud, we reported that the system is a battery powered, self-contained cartridge providing off-board jamming – therefore the time period “lively” – and dropped like typical chaffs and flares. The system creates a big distance between the plane and itself, so the missile and its shrapnel miss utterly the plane.
In accordance with Leonardo, BriteCloud can defeat nearly all of RF-guided surface-to-air and air-to-air risk programs, together with those that depend on the “home-on-jam” steering (when the missile targets the jamming sign, harmful particularly for plane outfitted solely with an inside or podded jammer). After BriteCloud is ejected, it begins to seek for precedence threats, gathering the incoming radar pulses and cross-referencing them in opposition to a pre-programmed risk library.
Upon discovering a match, BriteCloud’s on-board laptop applies its superior algorithms to simulate a “false goal” so correct that the risk system can’t detect the deception and distinguish it from the true plane. This occurs as a result of, as talked about by Leonardo, the decoy is in a position present each Doppler and vary obscuration with vary and velocity “gates” that confuse the ECCM programs.
BriteCloud is what is called a “second technology” expendable lively decoy, which differs from the primary technology decoys, generically referred to as additionally towed decoys, developed in direction of the tip of the Chilly Conflict and reliant on a cable that connects them to the plane to allow them to hold the required distance and likewise obtain knowledge and energy for the jamming sign.
BriteCloud is developed by Leonardo’s services in Luton (UK). Following the profitable exams of the 55 mm BriteCloud spherical, referred to as BriteCloud 55, Leonardo developed a good smaller variant referred to as BriteCloud 218 which might match the two”x1”x8” US-made chaff/flare dispensers.
Leonardo says BriteCloud requires minimal platform integration because it simply must be loaded within the chaff/flare dispensers. Due to this, the system requires little to no integration efforts with the F-35 since it may possibly match inside its present chaff dispensers, making it a kind of plug-and-play functionality.
