HENSOLDT will deliver its latest-technology Identification-Friend-or-Foe (IFF) products to ELTA Systems Ltd for integration into military air defense radars operated by several customer nations as well as civil air traffic control radars.
ELTA has awarded HENSOLDT several contracts worth approximately €10 million to deliver its MSSR 2000 ID and MSR1000I secondary radars and test equipment.
Working according to the latest Mode 5 NATO standard, HENSOLDT’s military IFF systems precisely identify aircraft by automatically sending interrogation signals which are answered by so-called transponders on-board friendly aircraft. IFF therefore enables field commanders to quickly distinguish friendly from hostile forces and helps avoid friendly fire incidents.
Unlike Mode 4 used hitherto, Mode 5 employs sophisticated encryption techniques to avoid hostile signal manipulation, therefore ensuring that the identification process is absolutely 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.
HENSOLDT is also under contract to upgrade German, French and UK Armed Forces’ IFF systems to the Mode 5 standard and has delivered IFF systems – including crypto devices – for ground and naval applications of several NATO nations. In total, HENSOLDT has more than 700 IFF systems under contract in 42 nations.
