Military friend-finder

BAE Systems received a $13m (£8.65m) contract from the US military’s Naval Air Systems Command to provide 500 identification friend or foe (IFF) digital transponders and spares to the US Army and US Navy.

The AN/APX-118 common transponder identifies aircraft and ships as friendly forces by responding to interrogations from ground-based or airborne IFF systems.

The transponders, installed on aircraft and naval vessels, establish the identity of friendly forces.

Those that do not identify themselves as friendly are considered threats.

‘Our system allows pilots to perform their missions and return home safely,’ said Sal Costa, director of combat ID products and systems for BAE Systems in Greenlawn, New York.

The army and navy use the common transponder on submarines, surface ships, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

The AN/APX-118 replaces outdated IFF transponders with digital technology, which is designed to improve the reliability and maintainability of aging systems.

Since 1999, BAE Systems has delivered more than 4,000 AN/APX-118 common transponders to the army and navy under the NAVAIR contract.

Work will be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Greenlawn and in Wayne, New Jersey in the US; it is expected to be completed in 2011.