As part of contracts awarded by the
French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), DCNS has selected Thales to equip the
French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and the two French
Horizon-class frigates with latest-generation IFF[1] identification
systems. The installation of these new systems, part of Thales's BlueGate product
family, will overcome the limitations of the systems currently in service and
provide the vessels with an effective Mode 5 / Mode S capability. The upgrade
to the latest NATO IFF standard will enable the warships to perform military
missions with the highest levels of security, dependability and integrity
(Mode 5), and better identify civil aircraft (Mode S).
The BlueGate IFF
system was tested and validated during the international Bold Quest exercise in
June 2013 in the United States. The exercise was a key milestone for Thales,
providing an opportunity to demonstrate BlueGate's interoperability with allied
systems, the guaranteed levels of IFF security it offers, and the fully
certifiable compliance of the BlueGate family of IFF products.
BlueGate IFF
systems from Thales are already installed on the French Navy's Jean-Bart
anti-aircraft frigate and successfully passed Sea Acceptance Tests (SATs) in
October 2013. The Jean-Bart was the first French Navy vessel with an
operational Mode 5 capability, soon to be followed by the Cassard anti-aircraft
frigate.
As one of the
global market leaders in IFF identification, Thales provides a complete range
of IFF solutions to meet the current and future needs
Of the armed
forces. More than 17,000 Thales IFF products have been installed to date on 100
types of aircraft, land-based platforms and naval vessels around the world.
