Leonardo contracted to supply more Mode-5 IFF products to Japan
Italy’s Leonardo has signed a contract to provide Mode 5-capable Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), as the U.S. ally transitions to the new standard.
The company announced on Monday it has signed a contract worth 5 million Euros to supply its M426 LPI (Low Probability of Intercept) Interrogator and SIT2010 Crypto Applique products to prime contractor Japan Radio Company, who will then use the equipment on “four platforms” operated by the JGSDF.
This contract will follow up on an earlier delivery of the SIT-422/5J interrogator equipment for the JGSDF, which Leonardo says “will provide a complete, digital Mode5-ready capability in a compact, lightweight package.”
It adds that this will ensure that the JGSDF will be “ready for the ‘Mode-4 sunset’ in June 2020, when many allied Armed Forces will be switching over to the new Mode 5 standard.”
Leonardo became the first non-US company to provide IFF equipment to the JGSDF in 2016. Since then, it has become one of the main suppliers of Mode 5-capable IFF technology to the Japanese Ministry of Defense via its partnership with Japan Radio Company.
The company also provides IFF technology to other Armed Forces internationally, including those of Italy and the UK, and boasts of its IFF products being both interoperable with NATO and allied forces as well as being readily exportable.
To download the latest issue of Defence Review Asia, click here
