Raytheon completes initial delivery of IFF transponders for the Republic of Korea's newest utility military helicopters

SEOUL, Republic of Korea, Oct. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has completed the first delivery of APX-119 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders for the Republic of Korea Army's Surion helicopter, the utility helicopter built by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd.

The IFF transponders provide military aircraft with a secure combat identification capability to reduce fratricide and enhance situational awareness, in addition to providing safe access to civilian airspace.

"This is a major milestone in providing the Republic of Korea with the next generation IFF system to meet evolving military and civil requirements for air, land and sea applications," said Glen Bassett, director of Advanced Communications and Countermeasures in Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business.

"We have also delivered APX-114 interrogators for maritime applications and our reduced size and weight mini IFF transponder to Korean Air Lines' unmanned aerial systems," he added.

Military IFF systems provide time-critical positive identification of friendly forces. The process is initiated automatically by a ground or airborne interrogator that transmits a secure message. The transponder then receives the interrogation and generates a secure response.

Based on the response, the interrogator can determine range, heading and identification. The civil IFF systems also provide aircraft identification and altitude. Future upgrades will include GPS position in the transponder response.   

About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2012 sales of $24 billion and 68,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 91 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.

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SOURCE Raytheon Company