"Squawk code" redirects here. For the similarly named compression scheme, see SQUOZE.
For uses non related to aeronautics, see Transponder.
Cessna ARC RT-359A transponder (beige box), beneath a VHF radio. In this example, the transponder code selected is 1200 for VFR flight (in North American airspace). The green IDENT button is marked "ID".
A transponder (short for transmitter-responder[1] and sometimes abbreviated to XPDR,[2] XPNDR,[3] TPDR[4] or TP[5]) is an electronic device that produces a response when it receives a radio-frequency interrogation. Aircraft have transponders to assist in identifying them on air traffic control radar. Collision avoidance systems have been developed to use transponder transmissions as a means of detecting aircraft at risk of colliding with each other.[6][7]
Air traffic control (ATC) units use the term "squawk" when they are assigning an aircraft a transponder code, e.g., "Squawk 7421". Squawk thus can be said to mean "select transponder code" or "squawking xxxx" to mean "I have selected transponder code xxxx".[6]
The transponder receives interrogation from the secondary surveillance radar on 1030 MHz and replies on 1090 MHz.