The BAE Systems-developed IFF technology identifies aircraft and ships as friendly forces through transponders that are installed on submarines, surface ships, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters, and as a result increase situational awareness and help to positively establish the identity of friendly forces, reducing the risk of fratricide, or “friendly fire.”
“Through use of open-system architecture and field-programmable gate arrays, the transponders are designed to be serviced and upgraded solely through software modifications, reducing risks and costs associated with hardware modifications, ” BAE Systems director of identification solutions Sal Costa said.
The contracted work is to be completed in December of 2011.