The United States F-35 stealth fighters will receive an active expendable decoy (AED) to help them defeat various types of air defense threats.
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Patuxent River, MD, has announced its requirement to procure AED, related support, and test equipment and tooling requirements for the F-35 platform.
According to the details released by the service, it will procure a best-estimated quantity of approximately 1,000 AEDs per year for the first two years, increasing to approximately 2,000 for follow-up years.
The contract opportunity also mentions the intent to purchase initial spare impulse cartridges, support equipment, support equipment repairs, and field service representatives for the U.S. Navy in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 through FY 2029 and other customer requirements.
UK firm to supply AEDs for F-35 fighters
The contract opportunity does not mention a specific contractor supplying the AEDs for the F-35 stealth fighter jets.
However, according to a report by The War Zone, a firm based in the United Kingdom will supply the AEDs.
According to the TWZ report , UK firm Leonardo’s BriteCloud Digital RF Memory Countermeasure will be the AED for F-35s.
Leonardo BriteCloud has already been tested on F-35 stealth fighters, and the decision to put them into operational use has been taken following the final evaluation.
Leonardo describes BriteCloud as an expendable active decoy (EAD) “with a small active self-contained Digital RF Memory (DRFM) countermeasure for fast jet aircraft that can defeat the majority of modern and legacy surface-to-air and air-to-air threat systems.”
The company further says that BriteCloud is designed to be dispensed from standard chaff and flare dispensers and requires minimal platform integration.
As an off-board capability, the BriteCloud DRFM jammer addresses the ‘home-on-jam’ vulnerabilities inherent with on-board solutions. Its very quick deployment time creates a large miss distance, drawing the threat away from the platform.
According to the specifications, it is a small soda-can-sized equipment with very little sustainment or maintenance cost, further increasing its appeal.
Multiple US aircraft are getting decoys
Considering the increased threat from ground—and air-based anti-aircraft systems, the US has been pushing for arming its aircraft with decoys, and the F-35 is not the sole aircraft in line for getting them.
Earlier in May, the US Navy selected BAE Systems to develop the Dual Band Decoy (DBD), a radio frequency (RF) self-protection jammer meant to shield fighter jets from enemies.
The RF self-protection jammer aims to add an extra layer of security to the US Navy jets. It provides cutting-edge jamming technology to disrupt enemy radars and lure missiles away from the aircraft.
BAE Systems had intended to use the combat-proven AN/ALE-55 Fiber Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) for the DBD.
DBD will consist of a towed unit connected by a fiber optic cable to electronic warfare equipment on the aircraft.
The AN/ALE-55 fiber optic towed decoy also applies the same principle. It jams signals with a high-powered response from off-board the aircraft at the end of the towline.
It guides missiles safely away from the aircraft to the towed decoy.
Moreover, according to BAE Systems, the DBD would initially be fielded on the US Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft.
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