Identification systems help to avoid friendly fire incidents
Hensoldt will deliver its test equipment used to ensure the correct performance of identification systems onboard aircraft and ships to the French Ministry for the Armed Forces,.
The contract worth several million Euros covers the delivery of 130 BTI1000I IFF testers (Identification-Friend-or-Foe) compatible with the military and civilian Mark XIIAS standard which are essential to make sure that IFF systems are working correctly before a military aircraft or ship is going on a mission. IFF systems, so-called secondary surveillance radars (SSR), precisely identify ships and aircraft by automatically sending interrogation signals which are answered by so-called transponders on-board friendly aircraft or ships. Thus, IFF enables field commanders to quickly distinguish friendly from hostile forces and therefore avoid friendly fire.
Hensoldt’s BTI1000I IFF testers have been qualified by DGA (the French Defence Procurement Agency) in 2017. End of 2017 the testers gave proof of their capabilities during the US Army’s “Bold Quest” interoperability exercises in Savannah/Georgia. They are under contract by several platform integrator companies and in service with the Armed Forces of Germany, Norway, Denmark and Australia.