Air Force awards combat ID systems work

Raytheon Co. will provide computers used for combat identification to the Air Force under a new contract worth up to $100 million.

Under the five-year agreement, Raytheon will produce and deliver up to 8,000 computers used for identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) equipment, Raytheon officials said today. The KIV-77 applique crypto computers provide information assurance for the system.

"The KIV-77 safeguards communications and protects warfighters when they need to identify friendly positions during combat," said Jerry Powlen, vice president of Network Centric Systems Integrated Communications Systems at Raytheon. 

The latest version of the IFF system uses an encrypted data link between interrogators and transponders to confirm that an aircraft is friendly. It uses a newer, more secure waveform than the previous version, the officials said.