Will our Phantom have an IFF Interrogator?

[StarLiner]

I've heard five different answers from five different people. Some insist it will have one, some insist it won't.

So what's the skinny, will we have the ability to independently IFF or will it be Real VID Hours?

[Northstar98]

On 5/22/2022 at 7:16 PM, StarLiner said:

I've heard five different answers from five different people. Some insist it will have one, some insist it won't.

So what's the skinny, will we have the ability to independently IFF or will it be Real VID Hours?

It will have an IFF interrogator, numerous manuals for the Phantoms we're getting (at least the ones announced) make reference to it.

Though expect it to only have M4 available, in the magic form IFF currently has (i.e. only checks coalition to determine whether a reply is generated).

Edited May 30, 2022 by Northstar98

[303_Kermit]

As Far as I recall there are going to be 2 variants of F-4E (God bless Heatblur) - Classic Vietnam Era and Late. That may be a hint

[Northstar98]

13 minutes ago, 303_Kermit said:

As Far as I recall there are going to be 2 variants of F-4E (God bless Heatblur) - Classic Vietnam Era and Late. That may be a hint

We're getting a mid-ish 70s DSCG Phantom and a late 70s/80s up to the early 90s DMAS Phantom - both are equipped with IFF interrogators.

[303_Kermit]

1 hour ago, Northstar98 said:

We're getting a mid-ish 70s DSCG Phantom and a late 70s/80s up to the early 90s DMAS Phantom - both are equipped with IFF interrogators.

Q: What variants will the Heatblur F-4 Phantom include?
A: The first release will be DCS: F-4E, the iconic land based variant of the Phantom. We will be launching two variants of the -E; a “classic era” F-4E (blocks 36-45 with updates retrofitted in 1974 and before, including new slats, DSCG and AGM-65) as well as an upgraded (DMAS) version of the aircraft in one package.

So it will be a post Vietnam Phantom

[QuiGon]

11 hours ago, 303_Kermit said:

As Far as I recall there are going to be 2 variants of F-4E (God bless Heatblur) - Classic Vietnam Era and Late. That may be a hint

Why? Were older Phantoms not equipped with interrogators?

[Northstar98]

On 5/23/2022 at 8:13 AM, QuiGon said:

Why? Were older Phantoms not equipped with interrogators?

At least the D, E, J, S, K and M certainly had interrogators. According to this, the AN/APX-76 was retrofitted during the Vietnam War.

If you look at the radar antenna on Phantoms, if you see 2 rows of dipole antennas mounted on the dish, that's a pretty good sign that it's equipped with an IFF interrogator, as that's what these antennas are most commonly used for.

AN/APG-72, with IFF interrogator antennas:

 

AN/APQ-100, without IFF interrogator antennas:

Here's an AN/APQ-120 on an F-4E, with IFF interrogator antennas present (though with 4 as opposed to 8):

And here's another AN/APQ-120 (again on an E, presumably an early one - earlier than the Es we're getting at least) without IFF interrogation antennas present:

Edited August 9, 2022 by Northstar98
grammar

[QuiGon]

19 minutes ago, Northstar98 said:

At least the D, E, J, S, K and M certainly had interrogators, and according to this, the AN/APX-76 was retrofitted during the Vietnam War.

If you look at the RADAR antenna on Phantoms, if you see 2 rows of dipole antennae mounted on the dish, that's a pretty good sign that it's equipped with an IFF interrogator.

AN/APG-72 (with IFF interrogator):

 

AN/APQ-100 (without IFF interrogator):

 

I see, thanks!