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| Japan's P-1 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
Mode 5 capabilities feature increased secure identification, better data-handling
LONDON, July 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In partnership with Hitachi Kokusai, Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is leading Japan's P-1 maritime surveillance aircraft modernization project. The upgrade features Raytheon's Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders containing modern technologies, which include a new waveform that identifies and tracks military aircraft.
"The Japanese Navy will have an increasingly secure and interoperable next generation IFF waveform that does not interfere with other flight-tracking systems," said Scott Whatmough, vice president of Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems' Integrated Communication Systems.
A total of 70 planes will be upgraded with the new transponders during the next several years and Raytheon anticipates additional Asia-Pacific regional modernization opportunities.
In advance of the 2020 phase out of the legacy identification system, NATO and other countries are gradually adopting the Mode 5 waveform due to its higher data security protection.
Military IFF systems provide time-critical positive identification of friendly forces. The process is initiated automatically by a ground or airborne interrogator that transmits a secure message. The transponder then receives the interrogation and generates a secure response.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2013 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 92 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.