FARNBOROUGH, England – Leonardo secured an export win for its Identification Friend or Foe technology in Japan. The news comes after another deal for the technology with the UK was announced.
Leonardo said it was under contract to supply it's SIT-422/5J interrogator technology to an unnamed Japanese prime contractor providing the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force with IFF for a radar program. The deal is the first time a non-US company has provided Mode 5 technology for a Japanese radar program.
No value has been given for the deal.
The Japanese success comes hard on the heels of a deal revealed by Leonardo boss Mauro Moretti that the company, together with partner Airbus, had been selected to provide British aircraft, naval vessels and ground based air defense systems with Mode 5 IFF. The deal involves fitting Mode 5 IFF systems to over 400 operational platforms introduced before 2005 along with a long-term support program with the potential to run to 2043.
News the two companies had beaten out the incumbent UK IFF supplier Raytheon to the deal to introduce the new NATO Mode 5 standard of equipment slipped out yesterday when Leonardo boss Mauro Moretti told reporters his company had been down selected.
The deal was duly confirmed at the Farnborough air show July 12 with the announcement that Team Skytale, the name of the Leonardo/Airbus partnership, had been nominated as preferred contractor.
Along with the Japanese and British contract wins, Leonardo also said it had secured additional British MoD work involving a technology demonstrator program to explore the benefits of electronically-scanning IFF systems on the Typhoon fighter.
Typhoon is not included in the major IFF order from the British for Team Skytale.
The Typhoon's current system, supplied by Leonardo, is due for an upgrade in order to meet new civilian air traffic regulations known as 'Mode S' in 2017 and the new NATO mandated Mode 5 standard in 2019.
Mode 5 provides better encryption security and other advantages over the current system.
NATO members will need to have the new system installed by 2020 when the old Mode 4 signal is scheduled to be turned off.
Bolsover said the partners in Team Skytale were already working to exploit their success in export markets and were looking at a sales opportunity in the Far East.
The Leonardo executive said the deal with the British includes an initial five-year support contract followed by options for two 10 year extensions.
He declined to give a value for the deal but Moretti said it was worth "hundreds of millions of euro."
Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.
