Hensoldt will deliver its latest-technology Identification-Friend-or-Foe (IFF) products to Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Elta awarded Hensoldt several contracts worth approximately €10M to deliver a number of MSSR 2000 ID and MSR1000I secondary radars including test equipment, Hensoldt writes in a press release. The IFF systems work according to the latest Mode 5 NATO standard and are to be integrated with civil air traffic control radars as well as military air defence radars operated by several customer nations.
Military IFF systems, like civil air traffic control radars called secondary surveillance radars (SSR), identify aircraft by automatically sending interrogation signals which are answered by so-called transponders on-board friendly aircraft. Thus, IFF enables field commanders to distinguish friendly from hostile forces and helps avoiding friendly fire incidents. According to the company, Mode 5 employs sophisticated encryption techniques to avoid hostile signal manipulation, thus ensuring that the identification process is reliable and secure. “Mode 5” is in the process of being introduced in all western armies as a precondition of joint operations of US/NATO and allied forces.
JR
