Mistral missile system mounted aboard the French Army's VLRA Pamela truck

Cassidian has received a contract from the French defence procurement agency (DGA) to supply its newly developed Monopulse Secondary Radar 1000 Interrogator (MSR 1000 I) identification systems for the French Army in short-range friend-or-foe identification (IFF).

The contract has been awarded as part of the IFF New Generation (NG) operation, aimed to develop Nato’s new Mode 5 interoperability standard compliant equipment; the company will supply a total of 150 systems for installation on the army’s Mistral missile launchers, as well as its Martha air defence command and control stations.

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Cassidian SAS head Bruno Rambaud said that the newly awarded contract would hold strategic importance for the company’s future.

"It makes Cassidian the European reference for short-range and very short-range IFF NG interrogators and it is a springboard to other markets, as the NATO allies will all eventually migrate to the new IFF standards," Rambaud added.

Featuring advanced encryption techniques to prevent hostile signal manipulation, the MSR 1000 I is a tactical satellite solution that has been designed for rapid and safe identification of the aircraft, helping the commanders decide whether to engage or not.

"It makes Cassidian the European reference for short-range and very short-range IFF NG interrogators and it is a springboard to other markets, as the NATO allies will all eventually migrate to the new IFF standards."

According to the company, the MSR 1000 I is ideal for installation on several platforms requiring Mode 5 standard, which include the US Stinger, the German LeFlaSys and the British High velocity missile (HVM) systems.

As part of the contract, the systems will also be integrated into the armoured launch vehicles of the French Air Force’s Crotale NG missiles.

Deliveries under the contract are scheduled to be complete by the middle of 2014.

Cassidian is currently under contract with 30 Nato countries for the delivery of more than 350 IFF interrogator systems, and has already delivered the long-range MSSR 2000 I units for use on the German and UK Royal Navy ships, as well as the French Navy’s BPC command ships.

Image: A Mistral missile system mounted aboard the French Army’s VLRA Pamela truck. Photo: courtesy of Rama.