Mobile Electronic Warfare System (IFF Tracker)
Communications & Embedded Systems
As part of an Air Force effort, SwRI provided integration and test services to produce two mobile Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) tracking systems.
Measuring and characterizing the response of airborne electronic warfare systems during flight is an important part of preparing for modern electronic combat. Improved performance can mean the difference between survival and loss of a vehicle and crew. As part of a U.S. Air Force effort to characterize the response of airborne electronic warfare systems, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) provided integration and test services to produce two mobile Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) tracking systems.
These mobile tracking systems, which are updated four times every second, provide information for a cooperating aircraft, including:
- Azimuth
- Elevation
- Range
- Altitude
This tracking information allows antenna aiming of a mobile measurement system to enable the required characterization.
The mobile electronic warfare system project included:
- Physical integration of an IFF interrogator
- Customized vehicle
- Related equipment
- System software development
The software utilizes the track data supplied by the interrogator once every two seconds and an adaptive alpha-beta tracking algorithm to predict aircraft position at quarter second intervals.
The completed IFF tracking system features:
- A retractable interrogation antenna
- A satellite clock
- A fiber-optic data link to the measurement system
The mobile electronic warfare system is controlled locally from within the vehicle or remotely from the measurement system. The integrated tracking system interfaces to the measurement system as a single IEEE-488 instrument.
Related Terminology
airborne electronic warfare systems • modern electronic combat • integration and test services • identification friend or foe tracking system • mobile tracking systems • communication networks • communication systems • specification development • prototype development • communications engineering
