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Thales launches RSM NG/IFF, top-tier civil-military surveillance radar
Thales’ RSM NG/IFF radar enhances civil-military airspace coordination with secure, AI-enhanced surveillance using NATO Mode 5, Mode S, and ADS-B standards.
www.thalesgroup.com
Thales’ new RSM NG / IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) radar enhances mission success in shared airspace by simultaneously delivering both civil and military data to air traffic controllers, while ensuring the segregation and confidentiality of sensitive military information through advanced cybersecurity. As the world’s only 3-in-1 secondary surveillance radar of its kind, it uniquely identifies aircraft using three internationally recognized standards from NATO, ICAO, and ADS-B. This innovation guarantees seamless civil-military airspace coordination without compromising operational safety or detection performance. By integrating the best of Thales’ RSM NG and IFF technologies, the radar provides air forces with a comprehensive situational air picture. The inclusion of NATO Mode 5 ensures that all data is encrypted and secure, enabling safe, coordinated air operations with civilian air traffic authorities.
Given the expected growth in air traffic over the next decades, airspace will become more crowded, and increasingly shared by civil and military aircraft. With increased traffic comes more data, and the need to identify aircraft (including uncooperative aircraft) quickly, precisely and in the most efficient, resilient, secure and manner. Air operation managers need to have a national air picture at their fingertips, instantaneously.
The RSM NG/ IFF, which combines Mode S and ADS-B, as well as excellent IFF capabilities, enables optimised airspace use for efficient air operations, secures the separation data between civil and military airspace, and ensures faster and better coordinated management of this increasingly shared airspace. The combination of these technologies enables faster track initialisation, providing a higher-quality air picture, with the guarantee of international aviation certifications and the new addition of NATO Mode 5 interrogation.
Thales has drawn on over 50 years of unrivalled expertise in air traffic control (ATC) radars – with more than 25,000 systems sold to date, worldwide – in the development of this new system. Cybersecured, and enhanced by artificial intelligence, the RSM NG/IFF also incorporates data segregation by design between Mode S and Mode 5, ensuring only authorised authorities access classified data.
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has developed the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Mode 5 standard. It is a military communications system used by NATO and its allies to identify aircraft and warships, in order to distinguish friendly from enemy forces.
- The International Civil Aviation Organisation has defined the Mode S standard for secondary radar, which allocates one code used by air traffic control to identify and track aircraft on radar.
- ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) is a co-operative surveillance system for real-time air traffic control.
