Identification system “my-foe”
MiG-29(M) No. 115 is the first aircraft with the new Mark XIIA “my-foreign” reconnaissance system installed in the WZL Start Group No.2 SA hangar in Bydgoszcz during preparation for flight.
In April, the first two MiG-23 fighters returned from the Lotnichy Military Plant No. 2 SA in Bydgoszcz to the 29th tactical air base in Minsk-Mazowiecki, where the process of creating and integrating a new reconnaissance complex “own-alien” was taking place. system operating in the Mk XIIA standard. The modernization of the aircraft is the result of the needs associated with allied obligations, as well as proof of the high qualification of the personnel of the factories in Bydgoszcz. Today, specialists have at their disposal nationally unique know-how in the field of maintenance and modernization of combat aircraft.
The idea of installing a new Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system that complies with the NATO Mk XIIA standard on MiG-29 aircraft of the Air Force, which will become applicable only from July 1, 2020, is not new. The first proposal was submitted to the Ministry of National Defense as early as 2008, when Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze nr 2 SA in Bydgoszcz was conducting research and analysis related to the concept of upgrading the MiG-29 aircraft operated in Poland. At that time, machines of this type had CNPEP RADWAR SC10D2/Sz Supraśl transponders (see WiT 4-5/2020), and 12 combat aircraft (operated in Minsk-Mazowiecki) also had SB 14E/A interrogators. These devices worked in the Mk XII standard and were installed in the 90s.
Identification panel PS-CIT-01 on the starboard side in the MiG-a-29(M) cockpit.
In 2008, it was planned to use the IFF BAE Systems AN / APX-113 (V) system in a variant operating in the Mark XIIA standard, and the concept of its installation was included in a three-stage modernization program for the Polish MiG-29s. Unfortunately, due to a lack of resources, the program was narrowed down to limited avionics replacement and pilot work environment upgrades. The contract, concerning only the MiG-i-29 belonging to the 23rd tactical air base in Minsk-Mazowiecki, was signed between the Armaments Inspectorate and WZL No. 2 SA in August 2011 and cost the State Treasury PLN 126 million. In total, 16 aircraft participated in it - 13 single and three double. The work was completed by the end of 2014 and, thanks to the technical solutions applied, made it possible to carry out the following stages of retrofitting the machines in the future. Among other things, the site was prepared and energy resources were allocated for the installation of devices for the new reconnaissance system "home-other" and tactical data transmission channels of the Link 16 standard. It is important to note that the Mark XII Supraśl state identification system installed on the aircraft was not integrated with the new moment of onboard avionics.
New state identification system for the MiG-29
The issue of replacing the "one's own with another" identification system of the Ministry of Defense returned in subsequent years, this time as a result of international obligations. In October 2016, the US Department of Defense announced that from July 1, 2020, Mark XIIA will become the only applicable IFF standard in the North Atlantic Alliance, and its military request and response coding format (mod.) 5 level 1. Making appropriate changes to the equipment of military equipment, including aircraft.
As a result of this situation, Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze nr 2 SA from Bydgoszcz carried out conceptual and analytical work on the replacement of home-abroad devices on aircraft operated by the company. They were facilitated by a technical dialogue announced in October 2014 by the Ordnance Inspectorate. It was supposed to receive information on the possibility of retrofitting MiG-29 aircraft with state identification devices in the Mark XIIA standard (mod 5 level 2), as well as on comprehensive logistical protection. In addition, the military side wanted to find an answer to the question of the possibility of maintaining post-warranty service for at least 16 years. Within its framework, a plant from the city on the Brda River presented a comprehensive proposal for equipping the upgraded MiG-29 aircraft (sometimes conventionally referred to as MiG-29M) 23. BLT and unmodified MiG-29 operated by the 22nd BLT. in Malbork, with the new IFF system according to the Mark XIIA standard. The above concept involved the installation of BAE Systems' state-of-the-art solution, the AN/APX-125 system.
His choice was the result of a deep research work carried out in Bydgoszcz. Due to the design features of the MiG-29 N019E radar (radiation of a beam reflected through a polarizing plate), a solution with electronic beam scanning E-SCAN was chosen. This solution was proposed by one supplier from the US and two from the European Union. One of the requirements for suppliers was the certification of the system by the AIMS office (air traffic control radar beacon system, friend-foe identification system, Mark XII / XIIA, systems) of the US Department of Defense for mode 5 to the BOX level, which allows subsequent certification of the aircraft, installed on the on-board system, up to the PLATFORM level. At that time, this requirement was met only by a supplier from the United States - BAE Systems Inc. When choosing the main blocks of the system, the complexity of the design and the previously installed systems on the same type or identical aircraft were also taken into account. The solutions of European suppliers are based on the E-SCAN antenna array, containing from eight (Rafale) to 12 (Gripen) conformal antennas, specially designed and installed during the construction of the aircraft airframe. The BAE Systems concept provides for the installation of five antennas, also on a finished airframe, and previously the installation of an identification system based on devices similar in size and power consumption (AN / APX-113 system of the Mark XII standard) was carried out on the MiG-29AS / UBS of the Slovak Air Force.
