Global InformationIdentification friend or foe information
Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is a combat identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an interrogation signal and then sends a response that identifies the broadcaster. IFF systems usually use radar frequencies, but other electromagnetic frequencies, radio or infrared, may be used.[1] It enables military and civilian air traffic control interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles or forces as friendly, as opposed to neutral or hostile, and to determine their bearing and range from the interrogator. IFF is used by both military and civilian aircraft. IFF was first developed during World War II, with the arrival of radar, and several friendly fire incidents.
IFF can only positively identify friendly aircraft or other forces.[2][3][4][5] If an IFF interrogation receives no reply or an invalid reply, the object is not positively identified as foe; friendly forces may not properly reply to IFF for various reasons such as equipment malfunction, and parties in the area not involved in the combat, such as civilian airliners, will not be equipped with IFF.
IFF is a tool within the broader military action of Combat Identification (CID), the characterization of objects detected in the field of combat sufficiently accurately to support operational decisions. The broadest characterization is that of friend, enemy, neutral, or unknown. CID not only can reduce friendly fire incidents, but also contributes to overall tactical decision-making.[6]
With the successful deployment of radar systems for air defence during World War II, combatants were immediately confronted with the difficulty of distinguishing friendly aircraft from hostile ones; by that time, aircraft were flown at high speed and altitude, making visual identification impossible, and the targets showed up as featureless blips on the radar screen. This led to incidents such as the Battle of Barking Creek, over Britain,[7][8][9] and the air attack on the fortress of Koepenick over Germany.[10][11]
- ^ "Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Panel with Dynamic Contrast at Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) Wavelengths (Solicitation)". SBIR-STTR. US Department of Defense (Army). January 2019.
- ^ "Combat Identification IFF Systems" (PDF). Tellumat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ "MEADS System Gains Full Certification for Identifying Friend or Foe Aircraft". Lockheed Martin. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- ^ "Identification Friend or Foe". Global Security. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- ^ "Combat Identification (IFF)". BAE Systems. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- ^ "Joint Publication (JP) 3-09, Joint Fire Support" (PDF). US DoD. 30 June 2010. p. III-20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-11. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Christopher Yeoman & John Freeborn, Tiger Cub – The Story of John Freeborn DFC* A 74 Squadron Fighter Pilot In WWII, Pen and Sword Aviation, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84884-023-2, p45
- ^ Bob Cossey, A Tiger's Tale: The Story of Battle of Britain Fighter Ace Wg. Cdr. John Connell Freeborn, ISBN 978-1-900511-64-3, chapter 4
- ^ Hough, Richard and Denis Richards. The Battle of Britain: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II, WW Norton, 1990, p.67
- ^ Galland, Adolf : The First and the Last p 101(1954 reprinted ..) ISBN 978 80 87888 92 6
- ^ Price, Alfred : Battle Over the Reich pp95-6(1973) ISBN 0 7110 0481 1