Thales Launches Civil & Military Secondary Surveillance Air Traffic Radar, RSM NG/ IFF

The new RSM NG/ IFF (Identification ‘Friend or Foe’) radar will contribute to enhanced mission success in the shared airspace, thanks to its unique architecture that provides both civil and military data simultaneously to air traffic controllers, while maintaining the segregation and confidentiality of military data, with the latest cybersecurity.

This innovative 3-in-1 secondary surveillance radar—the only one of its kind in the world—has the capacity to identify an aircraft using three standards from the defence and civilian worlds defined by NATO, ICAO and ADS-B. Civil and military airspace coordination is guaranteed, with no compromise on operational safety or detection performance. Combining the best of Thales’ RSM NG and IFF technologies, the radar will provide air forces with a situational air picture, with NATO Mode 5 ensuring that data is secured and encrypted. This enables safe air operations with a strong coordination with civil air traffic controllers.

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. “This new, unique secondary surveillance radar will bring the best of civil and military technologies, simultaneously offering NATO Mode 5, ICAO Mode S, and ADS-B. Thales’ RSM NG/ IFF enables the establishment of a precise national air picture, optimised flight paths for aircraft operating in increasingly congested airspace, and improved coordination between civil and military air traffic controllers,” said vice president of civil radars segment, Thales, Lionel de Castellane.