Can Pakistan F-16 and purported new BLK 70/72 can intercept Israel AF? Would IFF designate them as????
@Khafee @Starlord @MastanKhan @Irfan Baloch @HRK or any other expert, pro.
Many IFF codes are unique, not 'universal', meaning a 'friend' code for US is not the same as a 'friend' code from Britain which is not the same as from Germany which is not the same as from France, and so on. If Britain want to let US know that British fighters are 'friendly', then Britain will have to let US know that code so we can add it into our list of 'friends'. Same for Germans and French and so on.
- An IFF interrogator signal is transmitted.
- Assuming the response is automatic, an IFF response signal is transmitted.
- The interrogator compares the response against a library of 'friends'.
When I was active duty, I have seen a response that ended up with an F-16 from my own squadron ended up as 'foe'. It turned out to be a bad IFF component. IFF codes are top secret and can be changed even from hr to hr, if necessary.
Civilian IFF codes are pretty much 'universal', meaning every country agreed upon a preset signal that identifies an aircraft as 'civilian'. One of these 'universal' mode is altitude: Mode C. This mean when an aircraft, military or civilian, is interrogated, the automatic response contains just the pressure altitude. Mode C is more for air control traffic assistance.
The interrogator signal determines the response.
- Q: What is your tail number (Mode 2) and altitude (Mode C)?
- A: 15,000 ft.
Now we have an incomplete IFF response. You are supposed to tell me your tail number and altitude but I get only altitude. You maybe designated as 'foe'. The reason it is 'maybe a foe' instead of 'definitely a foe' is because possibly your IFF system is not equipped to respond with unique aircraft identifiers like tail number or class of aircraft (heavy). Mode 2 code is reserved for military. Mode C is 'universal'.
If a military query received only a civilian type of response, we will assign the respondent as civilian -- for now. If the area is a conflict zone, then there will be serious problems with incomplete responses, perhaps even ended up with catastrophic problems.