The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified Cassidian’s newly developed LTR 400 family of transponders, to the latest standards. The very low weight equipment, which is suitable for the identification of military aircraft as well as for use in civil air traffic control, is thus amongst the first in Europe to achieve this platform-independent approval.

At 2.8 kg, the LTR 400 is currently the smallest and lightest transponder worldwide, which can be used without any restrictions for both civilian air traffic control and military applications to identify friendly units. The transponder operates to the latest civilian air traffic control standard, Mode S ‘Enhanced Surveillance’. Together with the company’s encryption and decryption computers, it can also be used in all currently widespread military modes. Due to its low weight, the LTR 400-A is particularly suitable for use on board helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. This equipment has already been ordered to equip Eurocopter’s EC 635 helicopter.

“This approval to an especially standardized procedure improves access to the worldwide market for our identification systems. We are thus helping to optimize safety in civil and military air traffic,” explained Bernd Wenzler, CEO of Cassidian Electronics. “It saves platform manufacturers the costs and risks of specific approvals for different types of aircraft.”