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Secondary Radar

ROYAL SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY

BASIC SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY SECTION
Secondary Radar - IFF & SIFF

INTRODUCTION

any surveillance systems show detected objects (targets) as simple marks on some sort of visual display unit. Frequently, the mark on the display (e.g. a radar echo) gives little detail about the object that it represents. This is one feature of non-cooperative systems, such as ordinary radar, that operate without assistance from the target. Secondary radar, often called IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe), requires the fitting of a Transponder in the aircraft, ship or land vehicle, This transponder, when properly interrogated, can respond with a coded signal that contains information about the object that the surveillance system has detected and interrogated. Thus, a surveillance system can obtain more detailed information about its targets. IFF is used by civilian AIr Traffic Control to monitor the thousands of commercial aeroplanes above all countries of the world, primarily as a way of producing an orderly flow of traffic. An enhanced version, SIFF (Selective IFF), is also used. The military version of IFF requires additional features that, for example, deny information to the enemy. This handout describes the main principles of IFF and their importance when used in conjunction with air defence systems.

congested air-space as the interrogator is not overwhelmed by responses from all aircraft in the vicinity. There are 16 Million different codes and the reply includes the code of the responding aircraft, height and other information. Mode S replies use Manchester Encoding (see BST handout on Digital Data Comms). The IFF system that is fitted to military aircraft has to serve two functions. Firstly, to identify military aircraft to civilian ATC for collision avoidance and, secondly, to identify military aircraft to other military systems (especially own-side). The second function is particularly important to avoid so-called friendly fire. The military IFF must be capable of responding both to the civilian interrogation types described above and to the following military interrogation types: Mode 1: the required response identifies the type of aircraft and the type of mission. There are 64 possible replies. Mode 2: the required response is the tail-number of the aircraft. There are 4096 different replies possible. Mode 3: this is identical to the civilian Mode A and it is often referred to as Mode 3/A. Mode 4: this is an encrypted mode of interrogation that is used to identify friendly aircraft. It uses the concept of challenge-and-response: friendly aircraft give the correct response but enemy aircraft cannot. The interrogation consists of a number of encrypted challenges and the target aircraft must give the appropriate number of correct responses. Subsequent challenges might differ from previous ones, in order to defeat enemy attempts to deceive the system by recording and replaying previous responses. Details are classified and are not included in this handout. Mode 5: an improved version of Mode 4.

INTERROGATION SIGNALS

ll IFF systems transmit the interrogation signal on a frequency of 1.03 GHz (1 030 MHz). This signal has a wavelength of about 30 cm. The interrogation types used by civilian systems (Air Traffic Control, ATC) are: Mode C: the required response is information about the altitude of the aircraft. When flying below 10,000 feet, the response is zero, otherwise the response contains the altitude from 10,000 feet, at intervals of 100 feet. There are 1 278 different responses possible and response is automatic. Mode A: the required response is information about the identifying code that ATC allocated to the aircraft when it came into its area. This code might change when the aircraft flies into an area controlled by a different ATC. Aircraft not under ATC, such as light aircraft flying visually, reply with code 1200. There are 4096 different responses possible, including some that signal an emergency. As with Mode C, the response is automatic. Mode S: this is the Selective mode and differs from Modes C and 3/A in that it can be addressed to a specific aircraft. Each aircraft is allocated a unique, code and it only responds to that code. This helps in

The responses to several modes have the same format, so that, for example, a response to a Mode 3/A interrogation cannot be distinguished from a response to a Mode 2 interrogation. The interrogator knows the mode of the response because it remembers the mode of the last challenge. All interrogations take the form of a series of pulses that are transmitted on a frequency of 1030 MHz. Un-encrypted Modes: the interrogation used for the un-encrypted modes contains three pulses (called P1, P2 and P3). The time interval between pulses P1 and P3 identifies the mode: the P2 pulse is used for side-lobe

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3 s 2 s All Interrogation Pulses are 0.8 s Wide Mode 1

ANTENNA BEAMWIDTH & SIDE-LOBES

hen a surveillance system issues an IFF interrogation then this would be intended for a specific target. In an ideal world, only that target would receive and reply to the interrogation. However, no perfectly directional antenna exists and all antenna transmit radio waves in directions other than the intended direction. Specifically: Main Beam: the direction along which the largest amount of power is transmitted is called the Main Beam, This has an angular spread, called the Beamwidth, which might be as much as 30 in both azimuth and elevation. Side-Lobe: any other direction in which some power is radiated is said to be a side-lobe, These unwanted transmissions might have sufficient power to activate a transponder.

P1 5 s

P2

P3

Mode 2 P1 8 s P2 P3

Mode 3/A P1 P2 P3

Figure 1: IFF Interrogations for Modes 1 - 3 suppression (see later). Details of the pulse timings are in Figure One. The duration of each pulse is 0.8 s (800 ns) and the P2 pulse is always located 2 s after the P1 pulse. The Mode C challenge is similar to those shown, but with the P3 pulse located 21 s after the P1 pulse. Encrypted Mode 4: the challenge consists of four pulses, each of duration 0.5 s, at intervals of 2 s. A fifth pulse (shown dotted) is used for side-lobe suppression. Following the challenge are up to 32 coded pulses that must be decoded by the transponder before it replies. The reply consists of three pulses, each of duration 0.5 s, at intervals of 1.8 s. The time delay, between receipt of the interrogation by the transponder and the transmission of the three pulses in reply, is used by the interrogator to determine if the response is correct.

The main consequence of beamwidth and sidelobes is that any IFF interrogation will probably not be confined to a single aircraft - it is likely to be received by several aircraft, not necessarily in the direction in which the antenna is pointing. This will cause confusion as it will be difficult to identify which target gave which reply. Additionally, one interrogator might receive replies from transponders that were activated by another interrogator. To produce a narrow beam (e.g. 3) would require an antenna whose diameter is twenty-times the wavelength. For IFF, this represents 20 30 cm or 6 m. This will seldom be practicable. To solve these problems, the system must operate in such a way as to reduce its susceptibility to side-lobes and include a method of separating overlapping replies from several aircraft. Transponder Antenna: the antenna that is used by the transponder is omni-directional (it radiates in all directions). Consequently, it does not have a beam and does not have side-lobes. (Beams and side-lobes are features of directional antennae.)

SIDE-LOBE SUPPRESSION (INTERROGATION)

T
2 s Mode 4 Interrogation Up to 32 Coded Pulses P1 P2 P3 1.8 s P4 P5 All Mode 4 Pulses are 0.5 s wide Mode 4 Reply

Coded Delay

P1

P2

P3

Figure 2: Mode 4 Interrogation and Reply

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he important feature of this technique is that it provides a means of identifying signals that have passed out of, or into, an antenna via one of its sidelobes. Once these signals have been identified then they can safely be ignored. It does not eliminate, remove or cancel these signals - the technique identifies them and causes the system to ignore them. In all modes that have been described above, the interrogation signal contains a pulse that is shown in dotted lines. This pulse is used for side-lobe suppression. It is not transmitted from the main IFF antenna, but from a separate, omni-directional antenna. The output power used for this pulse is greater than the power that radiates from a side-lobe but less than the power that radiates from the main beam. The method of side-lobe suppression requires two antennae. One is directional (has a beam) whilst the other is omni-directions (radiates equally in all direc-

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8 s 2 s Main Beam Interrogation

REPLIES

A
P3

P1 8 s 2 s

P2

Side-Lobe Interrogation

P1

P2

P3

Figure 3: Ideal Signals Received by a Transponder Top: When in the Main Beam of the Interrogator Bottom: When in a Side-Lobe tions). To understand how this system functions, we need to consider the two possibilities: Target in the Main Beam: any signal that is received by a transponder that is in the main beam of the antenna will be at its maximum strength (since the main beam is where the largest power is transmitted). The normal interrogation pulses, P1 and P3, are transmitted from the main beam. The Side-Lobe Suppression (SLS) pulse, P2 (shown dotted in Figures One and Two), is transmitted via the omnidirectional antenna. This antenna produces the same, relatively-low signal strength in all directions, so the SLS pulse will be relatively weak. The transponder should, therefore, receive a signal similar to that shown in Figure Three (Top), where the SLS pulse is much smaller (9 dB, or nearly onetenth as powerful) as the other pulses in the interrogating signal. Target in a Side-Lobe: the signal that the transponder receives from the directional antenna is now much weaker than before. Consequently, the P1 and P3 pulses are much smaller. However, the P2 pulse remains at the same strength as before, because this pulse is transmitted from the omni-directional antenna and it has the same strength in all directions. The transponder can easily identify this signal as being from a side-lobe because the P2 pulse is bigger than the P1 and P3 pulses.

ll transponders reply using a frequency of 1 090 MHz (1.09 GHz). The response varies according to the mode used by the interrogator. Since the transponder has an omni-directional antenna, it has no way of knowing from which direction the interrogation came. Consequently, the reply is transmitted in all directions, including those that lead to other interrogators that have not actually interrogated that transponder. Replies that have been triggered by interrogators other than our own are given the acronym FRUIT False Replies Un-synchronised in Time. How the interrogator deals with these is described later in this handout. The replies to Modes 2, 3/A and C take about 25 s to transmit; Mode 1 replies take about 21 s and Mode 4 replies last for about 4 s. Allowing for the time of travel of radio waves (at 300 metres per microsecond), this means that there will be overlapping replies when there are two aircraft on a similar azimuth, whose ranges differ by less than 3.7 km, 3.2 km and 600 m, respectively, depending on which mode was used. Overlapping replies get mixed - or garbled - and the interrogator has to sort them out by a process called degarbling. This is described later. Replies to Modes 1, 2, 3/A and C all take the form of a series of pulses, representing the Ones and Zeroes of a binary signal. You have probably encountered Bytes - groups of eight binary digits - that can represent ordinary numbers between 0 and 255. The IFF signals contain bits that are grouped in threes and these can represent ordinary numbers between 0 and 7. Thus, no IFF codes contain the digits 8 or 9. One example code that is used is 7600 - radio comms failed.

FRUIT

Thus, by comparing the strengths of the P1/P3 pulses and the P2 pulse, the transponder can both identify main-beam interrogations and reply to them and it can also identify side-lobe interrogations and not reply to them.

alse replies, un-synchronised in time (FRUIT) are replies from transponders that are being interrogated by other systems, which our system receives unintentionally. These can usually be identified because they are not synchronised with our interrogations - in other words, they are received when we didnt request them. Since the velocity of radio waves is 300 metres per micro-second, then the system can estimate when a reply should be received. A target that is, say, 15 km from the interrogator will receive the interrogation 50 s after we transmit it. There will be a short delay (3 s) whilst the signal is analysed and the reply prepared, then the reply will take another 50 s to return to the interrogator. Any reply that does not fit the expected time of arrival is un-synchronised in time with our interrogation and can be ignored. Generally, IFF interrogations are carried out in short bursts, consisting of several interrogations in rapid succession. Interfering signals that are really responses to other interrogators signals can also be distinguished when they do not match our interrogation pattern.

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SIDE-LOBE SUPPRESSION (REPLIES)

t is a general principle of antennae that their properties are the same for both transmit and receive. This means that replies from transponders can be received in the directions of a side-lobe. Since IFF signals can reach hundreds of miles, aircraft that are replying to interrogations from other, distant systems might cause signals to be received by your system. The transponder cannot perform any action that would prevents its signals being received by a sidelobe. The transponder has no directional antenna (it has no way of knowing which direction the interrogation arrived from, so such an antenna could not be used), so it cannot use the same system of transmitting a comparison pulse. The surveillance system must identify sidelobe signals using its own resources, without any help from the transponder. Fortunately, the surveillance system can, again, perform a comparison of signal strengths to determine whether a signal entered either via the main beam or via a side-lobe. The same antennae that were used to transmit the interrogation are used to receive the replies. The system requires two, identical receivers, one for the main antenna and one for the omni-directional antenna. As before, there are two possibilities: Signal received in Main Beam: the main beam is very sensitive, so any signal received from that direction will be relatively strong. The omni-directional antenna is moderately sensitive, so the signal strength is of medium strength. The system identifies, and accepts, signals that have come from the direction of the main beam because the signal strength in the omni-directional channel is lower than that in the main channel Signal Received via a Side-Lobe: the side-lobes are very insensitive, so any signal received will be very small. The omni-directional antenna, as before, receives a signal of medium strength, because it is not affected by direction. The system identifies, and rejects, signals that have come from the side-lobes because the signal strength in the main channel is weaker than the signal strength in the omni-directional channel.

MB

SL SL Sum Channel

SL SL

Figure 4: Illustrating the Main Beam (MB) and Numerous Side-Lobes (SL) of a Sum-Fed Antenna main beam. Side-lobes will be always be present, as they cannot be eliminated. To reduce side-lobes, a very complicated antenna is required, often at least twenty-wavelengths across, and even this does not give zero side-lobes. An illustration of the angular distribution around such an antenna is shown in Figure Four. The distance from the antenna to the line represents the relative amount of power that is transmitted in that direction. Difference Channel: the signal to one side of the antenna is inverted, so that it is anti-phase. The radiation from the antenna is now a positive signal (in-phase) added to a negative signal (anti-phase) or, in other words, a subtraction of (difference between) the two signals. This has the effect of changing the power pattern, so that a strong null appears where the main beam used to be and, in other directions, the signal strength is greater than before, as indicated in Figure Five. In all directions, except that of the main beam, the power is greater in the difference channel than it is in the sum channel. This is equally true when transmitting as when receiving. Transmitting: the P1 and P3 pulses are transmitted using the sum channel. Their direction of maximum

Sum Beam (Dotted)

SUM & DIFFERENCE ANTENNA OPERATION

he directional antenna that is used to transmit the interrogation signal is often made up of a number of separate antennae, placed side-by-side. This is called an antenna array. If the signals that pass into and out of the antenna can be divided into left-half and right-half then there is a simple technique that can be used to produce the side-lobe suppression signals. Sum Channel: here, the left and right halves of the antenna are connected together in-phase, so that their signals add together (sum). This is the usual way of operating the antenna and it produces the required

Difference Channel
Figure 5: Illustrating the Main Null and Beam Pattern of a Difference-Fed Antenna
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Main Null

As before, the signals that come from the wrong direction are identified and ignored. The system still has to process them, before deciding to take no action.

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power is along the main beam, although some power appears in the side-lobes. The P2 pulse is transmitted using the difference channel. It is very weak along the main beam, but fairly powerful in the other directions. Consequently, a transponder in the main beam will receive very strong P1 and P3 pulses but a weak P2 pulse - this will easily be identified as valid. A transponder that is not in the main beam will receive a weak P1 and P3 pulse and a much stronger P2 pulse - this will easily be identified as invalid. Receiving: two receivers are needed: one to receive and process the sum channel and one for the difference channel. Any signals that are received more strongly in the sum channel than in the difference channel will be valid, because they must have originated in the main beam. Signals that originate from the direction of a sidelobe will appear more strongly in the difference channel. These can be ignored.

DE-GARBLING

hen an interrogator receives overlapping replies to its interrogations then these might be either interleaved or overlapping. Replies that are received like this are said to be Garbled. The relatively wide beam of the interrogating antenna, combined with the possibility that there might be several aircraft at slightly different ranges or elevations, causes this problem. The are two possibilities: Interleaved Replies: (un-synchronised) these can be processed using delay lines - provided that the pulses from the second reply fall between the pulses from the first. For example, in Mode 3/A, the pulses in the reply are of duration 0.45 s and are spaced at intervals of 1.45 s. Once the first pulse has been received then the system knows when to expect each of the others. It is relatively easy to ignore pulses that arrive at the wrong time. It is also possible to detect the final pulse (which must belong to the second reply) and to count back from that to find the complete set of pulses. Overlapping Replies: (synchronised) these cannot be separated, as the time of arrival of one reply is later by a whole number times 1.45 s (the same as the interval between the pulses). However, a repeat interrogation will probably succeed as the two targets concerned will not be moving at exactly the same velocity, so the time delays should be different on the next interrogation.

FIXING TARGET POSITION WITH IFF

he three pieces of information that are needed to locate a targe, using secondary radar, are the azimuth, range and altitude. When an aircraft responds to a Mode C challenge, it returns its altitude (height above sea level) in the reply. The time interval, between the issue of the challenge by the interrogator and the return of the reply, can be used to calculate the slant range. The azimuth can be estimated from the direction in which the antenna was pointing when it transmitted and received the signal. (Although the antenna might be rotating, the signal is travelling at the speed of light and takes quite a short time to travel to the target and back. Consequently, the antenna does not have time to rotate very far. Furthermore, the rotation rate of the antenna is dependant on the maximum range of the radar, so that long-range radars have antennae that rotate more slowly than short-range radars.) However, it is unlikely that an aircraft with hostile intent would provide this information, as it would help with our attack. If the aircraft does not reply to our interrogation, or if the reply is encrypted and cannot be decoded, then some of the required information is denied.

Much of the processing of the replies is performed using digital memory and processors, rather than the analogue means that were used initially. Digital signals may be stored and processed in several, different ways in order to determine the best means of processing them. Digital systems are also very good at processing encrypted signals.

DOPPLER AND SECONDARY RADAR

he expected Doppler shift on a signal of 1090 MHz (used for the reply) would be a maximum of 1 kHz for a target travelling at 300 ms1. The standard tolerance for the reply frequency is 3 MHz, which is considerably greater than any Doppler shift might be. Consequently, the Doppler shift is virtually impossible to measure, as it is masked by permitted variations in transponder frequency. Conventional Doppler radars use echoes of the frequency that they themselves transmitted - and the echo is compared with that original frequency. The transponder in a secondary radar generates its own frequency and the remote interrogator does not have access to it.

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SELF-TEST QUESTIONS

Q1. One difference between a primary radar and a secondary radar (IFF) is that the secondary radar: a. b. c. d. transmits and receives on the same frequency. requires the cooperation of the target. uses echoes from the target. does not use pulses.

Q7. A secondary radar system (IFF) can obtain range information using: a. coded pulses that are contained in the response to Mode 3/A interrogation. b. the time interval between interrogation and response. c. a comparison between the sum and difference channels. d. a comparison between the P1 and P2 pulses.

Q2. When an IFF transponder receives a Mode 3/A interrogation in which the P2 pulse is of greater power than the P1 pulse then it: a. b. c. d. ignores the signal, as it came from a side-lobe. returns altitude information. replies with an encrypted message. returns its airframe ID number.

Q8. When complex replies arrive, perhaps from several targets in range, the signals can get mixed up or garbled. The problem reply signal that can only be cured by sending another interrogation is: a. b. c. d. FRUIT. interleaved replies, un-synchronised. overlapping replies, synchronised. a reply that enters via side-lobes.

Q3. The replies to Modes 2, 3 and C have the same format. The interrogator knows which is which because it: a. uses a delay line to extract the information. b. compares the P3 pulse with the P1 pulse. c. remembers the mode that it used for the interrogation. d. uses a decryption key.

Q9. IFF Coded replies to Modes 2, 3/A and C use 12bits to encode the data. The number of possible codes is: a. b. c. d. 12 256 512 4096

Q4. False replies, un-synchronised in time (FRUIT) are caused by transponders that have: a. b. c. d. been interrogated by our signals. interrogated by a side-lobe. no valid encryption system. been triggered by other interrogators.

Q10. Many IFF replies are encoded using Octal digits. These correspond to decimal digits in the range: a. b. c. d. 0 0 0 0 1 8 10 16.

Q5. When a reply enters an IFF system via a side-lobe then it can be identified because: a. b. c. d. pulse P2 is bigger than pulse P1. the difference signal is bigger than the sum signal. the pulses last for a longer time. pulse P2 has a shorter duration than pulse P3.

Answers

a. the transponder frequency is not sufficiently stable. b. there are too many pulses in the interrogation signal. c. the interrogator frequency is not sufficiently stable. d. the amount of Doppler shift is too large.

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1. b 2. a 3. c 4. d 5. b 6. a 7. b 8. c 9. d 10. b.

requires a reply from a transponder P2 is the SLS pulse - small = good! it remembers what is asked for IFF range up to 200 miles! Pulse P2 is for interrogation, not reply Doppler effect is very small. farther away - signal takes longer. synchronised garbling cant be fixed 212 = 4096 different values, 0 4095 23 = 8 different values, 0 7.

Q6. IFF systems do not perform Doppler processing because:

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Teaching Objectives

Comments

H.09.01: Describe the operating principles of secondary radar

H.09.01.01 H.09.01.02 H.09.01.03 H.09.01.04 H.09.01.05 H.09.01.06 State that participating vehicles require a transponder that transmits a reply to a coded interrogation. State that the civilian version is un-encrypted Describe the sort of data that can be put into an IFF reply. Describe the simple interrogation signals used in Modes 1, 2, 3/A Outline the interrogation system used for Modes S Outline the interrogation system used for Mode 4 Three-pulse set, interval determines the mode. Not addressed to any particular aircraft. Addressed to a specific aeroplane. Encrypted challenge & response. Co-operative targets.

H.09.02: Describe the methods used to suppress side-lobes

H.09.02.01 H.09.02.02 Describe the use of the P2 pulse and omni-antenna for transmitting the interrogation. Describe the use of omni or sum/diff channels for recognising side-lobe reception. Transponder identifies side-lobe transmissions by comparing pulses.

H.09.03: Describe the methods used to process problem signals

H.09.03.01 H.09.03.02 E.01.02.05 Describe the origin and processing of FRUIT. Describe the origin and processing of garbled signals Describe the operation of a variable resistor and potentiometer In simple terms without taking loading into account.

H.09.05: Describe the methods used to extract additional information from IFF replies
H.09.05.01 H.09.05.02 Describe the method of obtaining range, height and altitude data. Explain why Doppler information is unavailable.

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