Thales' IFF Selected For S Korean MANPADS

South Korea's Defense Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) has awarded a contract to LIG Nex1 Thales, for the supply of IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) systems to replace Mode 4 with Mode 5 for enhancement capability.

Short range TSA 1412 interrogators will be produced by local partners based on license production supported by Thales.

Thales IFF systems integrated by LIG Nex1 will supply TSA 1412 IFF interrogators for integration with man-portable missile systems and TSA 2522 for air defence vehicles. Thales and South Korean partner LIG Nex1 were selected after a request for proposals to support the country's air defence capabilities.

IFF systems identify friendly platforms in the theatre of operations to prevent incidents of friendly fire and contribute to air traffic surveillance. The TSA 1412 is part of Thales's BlueGate family of IFF systems. This short-range/very short-range interrogator is the lightweight (less than 2 kg) and is ideally suited to man-portable weapon systems and short range air defence systems (SHORADS). It will be integrated with South Korea's K-SAM, Biho-hybrid, TPS-830K and KP-SAM defence systems.

The TSA 1412 implements Mode 5 certification, which is mandatory for NATO-led coalition forces from 2020. Certification was awarded by AIMS1, the United States body that guarantees interoperability of US and NATO systems.