HENSOLDT technology progress opens up new IFF capabilities ~ new ‘stop-and-stare’ mode improves tracking performance of air defence systems.
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Press Release, Taufkirchen, 30 March, 2022: Sensor solutions specialist HENSOLDT has achieved a major technology development milestone which enhances substantially the detection capabilities of Ground-Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems. The company implemented and tested successfully a software enhancement with its proven MSSR 2000 ID secondary radar that allows for precise tracking of aircraft in addition to the conventional surveillance mode of Identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) systems. A so-called ‘stop & stare’ mode allows GBAD systems to process identification tracks in specific sectors in near-realtime and very precisely.
The new feature uses electronic beam steering and automatised antenna control in order to enable the user to progress from the rather ordinary surveillance operation to a very focused lock-on and track mode. Thereby, distinction between friendly and hostile forces is substantially accelerated and thus the protection of forces on the ground considerably improved.
IFF systems precisely identify aircraft by automatically sending interrogation signals which are answered by transponders on-board friendly aircraft. Thus, IFF enables field commanders to distinguish friendly from hostile forces and helps avoiding friendly fire incidents. The most recent ‘Mode 5’ IFF systems like MSSR 2000 ID employ sophisticated encryption techniques to avoid hostile signal manipulation, thus ensuring that the identification process is absolutely reliable and secure.
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