Patuxent River, Md., 30 Nov. 2009. Thales's Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogator and transponder completed the Mode 5 comprehensive interoperability tests in the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (US NAVAIR) laboratories.
Under the first New Generation Mode S and Mode 5 IFF contract awarded to Thales for the supply of more than 160 sets of IFF equipment, the French defense procurement Agency (DGA) and the U.S. Department of Defense organized tests NAVAIR, which had the Thales Mode 5 IFF systems communicate with their American equivalents in order to validate the interoperability of the developments of this new NATO secure mode.
These tests, which took place with the mode 5 encryption keys, have made it possible to validate the TSB 2512 IFF Combined Interrogator Transponder (CIT) in its interrogator and transponder functions as well as the TSC 2002 IFF transponder.
The TSB 2512 is an IFF Combined Interrogator Transponder (CIT) fitted in particular to the Rafale omnirole combat aircraft.
The TSC 2002 is a remote IFF transponder fitted to many French platforms such as the C130, the SDCA E-3F aircraft, or the EC 725 helicopters.
As they share a common core with the whole Thales IFF family, this CIT and this transponder are now considered to be benchmarks for the full range of IFF equipment.
"We are very happy with the results of these tests. This success demonstrates Thales' ability to guarantee its clients the total interoperability of their identification friend or foe system within the context of NATO operations", says Merry Michaux, director of communications, navigation, and identification activities at Thales.
