IFF digital interrogator garners BAE Systems a $19 million U.S. Navy contract
NewsSeptember 24, 2024
GREENLAWN, N.Y. BAE Systems won a $19 million contract from the U.S. Navy to design and implement UPX-24 target data-processor capabilities into a single digital interrogator (DI) identification friend or foe (IFF) solution, which is intended to optimize data collection and processing to enable timely insights in order to enhance decision-making on Navy ships.
According to the company's announcement, digital interrogator systems enable operators to identify nearby forces and make informed decisions that reduce friendly-fire incidents and support mission success. By combining these capabilities into a single processor, the new systems will support reduced size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) objectives and enable upgrades in the future.
The DI collects the data by emitting an “ask” radio signal at one frequency, prompting an IFF transponder to emit a reply signal at a different frequency, indicating that an approaching platform is “friendly.” The ships' UPX-24 systems provide target data to their command, control, communications, computer and intelligence (C4ISR) system and processes all the inputs to decide how to respond.
Donna Linke-Klein, director of Tactical Systems at BAE Systems, said of the IFF upgrades: “Going from two separate hardware sets on a shipboard platform to a single consolidated solution allows for reduced obsolescence and the ability to rapidly integrate new technology. The latest design will optimize performance while providing the situational awareness our warfighters need in a variety of threat environments.”
Work on this latest Navy contract will be done at the BAE Systems facility in Greenlawn, New York.
