Leonardo-Finmeccanica to Supply UK Air Force With Missile Decoy System

Leonardo-Finmeccanica has received a $3.3 million contract from the U.K. defense ministry to produce a miniature decoy system that will work to help the British air force guard aircraft against missile threats.

The Royal Air Force will adopt Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s BriteCloud system to disrupt radar-guided adversarial air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems, MoD said Friday.

RAF plans to conduct flight tests of the decoy on the Tornado aircraft in late 2016 before the service branch decides whether to integrate the system into Tornado missions beginning in mid-2017.

“Flight trials planned for later this year will test the system’s effectiveness against a wide range of current and potential threats, helping to ensure that U.K. pilots have the tools they need to successfully complete their missions wherever they are in the world,” said Tony Douglas, CEO of the MOD’s defense equipment and support organization.

BriteCloud is designed to launch from an aircraft’s flare dispenser and identify missile threats through radar emissions.