MAPPING

Mobile Mapping System
With integrated inertial labs INS/lidar

The Meridian mobile mapping system integrates the Mosaic X camera with Inertial Labs inertial navigation system (INS) and lidar to improve mapping accuracy.

The Meridian system offers panoramas with a 74 MP native resolution and 13.5 K resolution using precisely synchronized camera modules. The design minimizes image overlap to offer clearer and more consistent panoramas. The integrated INS system has a vertical accuracy of 2 cm to 3 cm and a precision of 2 cm to 4 cm.

It features seamless, out-of-the-box operations with fully integrated and calibrated components. The Meridian system is designed for ease of use and requires only minutes of training. In addition, it features a rugged design to ensure performance in challenging environments.

Mosaic, mosaic51.com

OEM

INS
Combines a GPS master clock with an INS

The Geo-APNT serves applications requiring precise navigation data and an accurate time reference. The Geo-APNT combines a versatile GPS master clock with an INS to
offer assured positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) under all circumstances, including temporary loss of GPS signal. It minimizes size, weight and power (SWaP) due to the integration of positioning and timing that are typically achieved by two independent subsystems.

It can be easily integrated into existing systems and supports RTK and PPK positioning and offers support for MEMS, fiber optic gyro and ring laser gyro inertial measurement units (IMUs). The system also includes GPS antenna and cables.

AEVEX Aerospace, aevex.com

Tactical-Grade IMUs

For unmanned applications

<p>The post Launchpad: Tactical-grade IMUs, Spirent simulator upgrades, atomic clocks and more first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Read more about NavStorm-M.

Catch up on the latest news from BAE Systems.

<p>The post JNC 2024: BAE Systems first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Photo: BAE Systems

BAE Systems has unveiled NavStorm-M, a gun-hardened integrated anti-jamming GPS receiver for artillery, bombs, missiles and unmanned systems.

NavStorm-M features a layered protection approach using beamforming, anti-spoofing, resiliency and software assurance. It is an assured positioning, navigation and timing (A-PNT) device featuring M-Code GPS technology.

The capability is designed to meet the tight size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) requirements of unmanned aircraft systems, loitering munitions, hypersonic platforms and other weapons – especially in gun-hardened applications. NavStorm-M offers precise GPS navigation as a stand-alone system or integrated with an inertial navigation system (INS).

BAE Systems has delivered selective availability anti-spoofing module products to more than 45 countries and has begun delivering M-Code GPS receivers in multiple form factors and levels of capability to the U.S. armed forces and its allies through the Foreign Military Sales program.

<p>The post BAE Systems unveils anti-jamming GPS receiver first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: BAE Systems

BAE Systems has been awarded a contract by Boeing to enhance the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling system with a modernized vehicle management system computer (VMSC). This upgrade aims to enhance the computing power of the MQ-25 and address both obsolescence issues and overall aircraft performance for future operations.

The MQ-25 — recognized as the Navy’s inaugural operational carrier-based UAV — is primarily tasked with aerial refueling capabilities designed to alleviate the burden on F/A-18 aircraft and improve the fleet’s operational flexibility.

The next-generation VMSC developed by BAE Systems is key to controlling the MQ-25’s flight surfaces and managing the vehicle. The upgrade is designed to enhance the MQ-25’s functionality and make its critical missions more efficient by consolidating hardware components into a single computer system.

The VMSC upgrade will incorporate quad-core processors, which augment the system’s computing power without increasing its size, weight, or power consumption. The selection of a multi-core processor, already qualified on another U.S. military platform, aims to mitigate cost, schedule, and integration risks associated with the MQ-25 program.

By replacing multiple onboard computers with a single VMSC, the upgrade is expected to improve aircraft reliability and decrease the total cost of ownership for the Navy. Additionally, the VMSC is designed to support the expansion of the MQ-25’s mission set, potentially including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, and to establish a foundation for future carrier-based unmanned systems through the implementation of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) operational concepts.

The VMSC enhancement work is conducted at BAE Systems’ engineering and manufacturing facility in Endicott, New York, underscoring the company’s commitment to advancing the U.S. Navy’s unmanned aerial capabilities.

<p>The post BAE Systems to upgrade US Navy UAVs first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: BAE Systems

BAE Systems has completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for its Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 Miniature Serial Interface (MSI) program. This development is part of a $247 million contract awarded in 2020 by the U.S. Space Force.

The MGUE Increment 2 MSI program is centered on the integration of a next-generation application specific integrated circuit (NG ASIC), which aims to improve the security and performance of M-Code technology. M-Code is designed to resist jamming and spoofing, which is crucial for military GPS applications. The NG ASIC technology also ensures compatibility with future BAE Systems M-Code GPS receivers.

The MGUE Increment 2 program’s objectives include the development of an advanced, security-certified M-Code NG ASIC. This component is intended to provide reliable positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) in GPS-challenged environments, incorporate multi-GNSS) robustness, and reduce power consumption for military applications in airborne, maritime, and ground domains.

Additionally, the program aims to develop a small form-factor MSI GNSS receiver for applications that require low size, weight, and power (SWaP).

The program is on track for completion in 2025, with deployment planned for the U.S. and its allies. The development is being conducted at BAE Systems’ facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

<p>The post BAE Systems completes critical design review for M-Code GPS receiver first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Matteo Luccio

When Boston Light — an 89 ft-high, white lighthouse on Little Brewster Island in Boston’s outer harbor — opened in September 1716, it was the first one in the Thirteen Colonies. Sally Snowman, who has been its keeper for most of the past two decades, is the last official lighthouse keeper in the United States. Contemplating the horrible trips across the Atlantic on merchants’ galleons, when many gale-tossed passengers despaired of ever setting foot on land again, she recently commented: “Imagine what they felt when they spotted the light.” See Dorothy Wickenden’s article “Last Watch” in the November 6, issue of my favorite magazine, The New Yorker. Of the roughly 850 lighthouses currently in the United States, Wickenden reported, only about half serve as active aids to navigation and the U.S. Coast Guard has automated all of them. “The rest,” Wickenden wrote, “have been made obsolete by GPS.” Yet, she pointed out, even hardheaded ship captains and pilots say that “lighthouses still have a place.”

When Snowman retires at the end of this month, it will mark the end of an era that lasted more than three centuries. This month also marks the 50th anniversary of the approval of Navstar GPS (as it was originally called) by the Defense Systems Acquisition Review Council (DSARC) of the U.S. Department of Defense. Three months earlier, at the meeting now remembered as Lonely Halls (see my editorial in the September issue), Brad Parkinson and his team had made the key decisions about the system’s architecture, including the number of satellites, their orbits, and what kinds of signals to use.

In this month’s issue, we revisit how, after initial opposition, the U.S. armed forces adopted GPS; how the civilian/commercial GPS (now GNSS) industry was born; and how surveyors reacted to this disruptive new technology.

To answer the first question, I asked Gaylord Green, who was on Parkinson’s team and later led the GPS Joint Program Office, to write his recollections on the subject. I also interviewed Marty Faga, whose long and distinguished career included four years as both Director, National Reconnaissance Office and Assistant Secretary for Space, U.S. Air Force. Faga passed away on October 19. To answer the second question, I turned to Charlie Trimble, who in 1978 co-founded the company named after him and was its CEO until 1998. To answer the third question, I chose Dave Zilkoski, who earned a master’s degree in geodetic science in 1979, the year after the first GPS satellite was deployed, while working for the National Geodetic Survey, of which he was later the director for about three years. Many readers of this magazine also know Zilkoski as the regular contributor to one of our four digital newsletters, Survey Scene.

This issue’s cover story also focuses, in part, on the 50th anniversary of GPS, as seen by three large players in the aerospace industry: Spirent, BAE Systems, and Northrop Grumman.

Matteo Luccio | Editor-in-Chief
mluccio@northcoastmedia.net

<p>The post Lighthouses on land and in the sky first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: Defense Visual Information Center

As part of our celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Global Positioning System, three long-time players in the industry share their “GPS origin story,” recent breakthroughs, and their view on the next 50 years of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). All three began their involvement with GPS between the late 1970s and the late 1980s, before the system was completed. All three are continuously making GPS more resilient and resistant to jamming and spoofing or augmenting it with layered multi-orbit architectures of complementary PNT.

Read the origin stories, recent breakthroughs, and more insights from the following companies:

BAE Systems: Pioneering military GPS technology

Northrop Grumman: Integrating and developing GPS technology

Spirent: From testing GPS to assuring PNT

<p>The post Origin stories: Champions of GPS share beginnings, breakthroughs and what’s next first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: BAE Systems

What is BAE Systems’ GPS origin story?

BAE Systems has more than 45 years of military GPS experience. In fact, the first ever GPS signal reception on Earth happened at one of our offices in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 19, 1977, when one of our legacy companies received the signal. Since that historic day, BAE Systems’ engineers have introduced more than 50 GPS products, including GPS anti-jam and precision landing systems.

As a pioneer in military GPS technology, BAE Systems has delivered nearly two million GPS devices on more than 280 platforms around the world. We design and produce advanced GPS technology compatible with the next generation M-code signal, improving security and anti-jamming capabilities for critical defense applications.

Can you share any recent innovations from BAE Systems?

BAE Systems innovates a full portfolio of M-code-compatible military GPS solutions to meet warfighters’ needs. Our Strategic Anti-jam Beamforming Receiver — M-code (SABR-M) is the most capable integrated anti-jam (AJ) electronics GPS receiver and the first integrated AJ M-code receiver available for weapons systems. It delivers assured, global position, velocity, altitude and timing, as well as strong protection against GPS signal jamming and spoofing — critical capabilities for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), precision-guided munitions (PGMs), and missiles in threat environments.

This past June, at the Joint Navigation Conference in San Diego, BAE Systems unveiled NavGuide, a next-generation Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (A-PNT) device featuring M-code GPS technology. It is our response to strong defense market demand for a cost-effective, high performance handheld GPS upgrade. NavGuide provides an intuitive user interface and integrates easily into platforms currently using BAE Systems’ Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR).

How is your company preparing for the next 50 years of PNT with GPS and beyond?

BAE Systems is making advancements in our critical navigation capabilities for the warfighter through the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 program. We are developing a Next-Generation Application Specific Integrated Circuit (NG ASIC) for our small form factor Miniature Serial Interface (MSI) receiver. This will enhance our full portfolio of ground, airborne and weapons M-code assured GPS receivers beyond 2030.

We have invested an enormous amount of time and energy into our facilities and simulator capabilities, especially in our state-of-the-art simulators powered by Spirent Federal signal generation and RF wavefront technology. We want to be prepared to meet the technical demands of an ever-changing threat environment, and we need to be certain our receivers are prepared for the fight the first time, every time. We put our receivers through the paces by running them through thousands of trials on our Spirent simulators to validate and verify our performance under the most demanding scenarios.

<p>The post Pioneering military GPS technology first appeared on GPS World.</p>