IFF

(Copied straight from .XML 'backup' file, needs formatting and corrections. ZM User (talk) 20:15, 22 April 2024 (PDT))

This is a "Stub", or a short article with little useful information.  Any editor with more information about this subject is invited to help improve it.

   IFF is an acronym for "Identification Friend <or> Foe", any system which attempts to determine whether an unknown contact is allied or enemy.  While uniforms, badges, and "wear a white rag around your left shoulder" are all common ways to identify someone as a friendly or enemy soldier and they all meet the practical meaning of IFF, the acronym is usually used to mean an electronic system.

   IFF systems are usually an add-on to a radar or other sensor system.  A curious unit (ship, aircraft, etc) will have its sensor systems send a special code out.  Friendly units should have their own sensor systems set to automatically reply with their own coded message.  Naturally, an astute enemy will do its best to mimic these codes in order to be mistaken as friendly.  If the curious unit recognizes the reply code, it may identify the replying unit as friendly, still unidentified, or even "Bogey is using yesterday's code, probably an enemy".
   Depending upon tactical needs, these codes may be standard, changed daily, or even have the current time encoded into them so that there is no need to constantly change the codes to remain valid.

   During the Swarm War, Confederacy AIs were able to determine the identity of any unknown force long before hostilities began.  Because of this capability, automated IFF systems were only needed when there were no AIs available.  Generally, this meant that the curious unit was a self-contained automated munition of some sort (missile, mine, torpedo, etc) which had to make immediate combat decisions about what to attack without access to an AI.  Since the Sa'arm did not use electronic sensors or communication systems, all Confederacy automated munitions sent out IFF interrogation pulses whenever they encountered a new contact, and all Confederacy units from individual battle armor suits up to the largest warships automatically replied to those IFF pulses with their own identification codes.
   The Sa'arm did occasionally capture a Confederacy asset (ship, combat vehicle, etc).  If the electronic systems were still operating, the captured asset would reply to an IFF pulse but if an AI was available it would tell the Confederacy forces that the asset had been captured and was no longer part of the Confederacy.  If no AI was available, a curious missile would accept the captured unit as friendly and ignore it.

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