Air Force orders secure cryptographic identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) avionics from General Dynamics
SAN ANTONIO – U.S. Air Force avionics experts needed modern identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) systems for a variety of military aircraft. They found their solution from the General Dynamics Corp. Mission Systems segment in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Official of the Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Joint-Base San Antonio, in San Antonio, Texas, announced a $20.2 million contract to General Dynamics Thursday for KIV-78 mode 4/5 cryptographic applique IFF systems.
The KIV-78 is a Type 1 NSA-certified communications security (COMSEC) for identification friend or foe (IFF) in military aircraft avionics. It provides cryptographic and time-of-day services for a mode 4 and mode 5 Mark XIIA IFF combined interrogator/transponder, individual interrogator, individual transponder, or IFF system deployed to identify cooperative, friendly systems.
It is AIMS 04-900 compliant, offers simultaneous mode 4/5 interrogate and transpond support, and is software upgradeable. This contract includes KIV-78 units, Delorean circuit card assemblies, data and technical support for U.S. and foreign military sales.
The small appliqué design of the KIV-78, enables the IFF avionics unit to be removed and leaves its host equipment unclassified. It supports as long as three months of keys for mode 4 and mode 5 IFF and stores these keys in encrypted format, allowing black key recovery.
Related: Air Force orders secure IFF avionics from Raytheon to help safeguard U.S. military aircraft
The unit can run by battery and by prime power, and accepts key loading via DS-101 serial protocols. It is compatible with the CYZ-10, PYQ-10, KIK-20, and other EKMS308/608-compliant DS-101 key load devices, and operates in three modes: storage; key-retention; and prime power.
Crypto-support tools include an emulator that performs mode 4 and mode 5 interrogate and transpond functions that comply with 04-900 option A for interface voltages, waveforms; and STE, which performs closed-box confidence testing to verify the unit is functional. The STE also can collect crypto status, verify QKEK, check for low battery, and confirm which image versions are loaded.
The unit measures 3.4 by 4.7 by 2.1 inches, and weighs 1.5 pounds. It operates in temperatures from -40 to 91 degrees Celsius, at altitudes to 78,000 feet. It can withstand 40 Gs of shock, and operates for 10,000 hours mean time between failures. It can operate on battery power for as long a six months under normal operating conditions.
For more information contact General Dynamics Mission Systems online at https://gdmissionsystems.com, or the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at www.wpafb.af.mil/aflcmc.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
