Advanced Navigation has finalized a multi-million deal with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to supply more than 50 Boreas D90 fiber-optic gyroscope inertial navigation systems (FOG INS) to strengthen Kongsberg’s Protector RS4 in high-threat, contested environments.
As a strategic-grade INS, the Boreas D90 is engineered for the world’s most extreme environments, maintaining exact targeting and unwavering line-of-sight control for the Protector RS4.
The Boreas D90 was selected not only for its superior precision in GNSS-denied conditions, but also for Advanced Navigation’s proven capacity to meet demanding delivery timelines. This agility is made possible by the company’s state-of-the-art, vertically integrated manufacturing. By controlling the entire production process, from sourcing raw components to assembly and testing in simulated EW environments, Advanced Navigation can rapidly scale output on demand and guarantee schedule certainty, a critical factor for Kongsberg.
The Protector RS4 remote weapon system. Photo: Kongsberg)
The Protector RS4 is the world’s most fielded remote weapon system, deployed across more than 30 nations and multiple domains. The highly flexible, modular system is designed to integrate a diverse range of payloads, including small and medium caliber systems and guided effectors. Its advanced, modular sensor suite (day, night, LRF) provides exceptional and customizable situational awareness.
The fully stabilized 2 + 2 axis (detached line of sight) system allows the operator to maintain focus on a point of interest, independent of platform movement or the delivery solution for the specific system in use. The Protector RS4 is platform-independent and suitable for both land and sea applications.
By integrating Boreas D90, the Protector RS4 achieves a new level of precision and survivability, sustaining locked targeting and georeferenced stability even when GNSS is compromised or denied. This enhancement positions Kongsberg’s Protector RS4 as one of the few systems globally capable of maintaining precision pointing under active electronic warfare attack.
The deal supports the Global Supply Chain (GSC) Program, an initiative by the Australian Department of Defence designed to connect local suppliers with major global defense prime contractors. Advanced Navigation is based in Australia; Kongsberg is based in Norway.
Artist’s impression of the CACI/York Space DemoSat scheduled to launch in January 2023. (Credit: CACI)
CACI International, a U.S. defense contractor, plans to demonstrate a supporting navigation technology for military use as part of its DemoSat launch in January 2023.
CACI will launch two demonstration payloads on a York Space Systems satellite scheduled to fly to low Earth orbit in January aboard the SpaceX Transporter 7 rideshare.
The payload will contain an alternative positioning, navigation and timing solution that will work in a contested space domain. It is designed to support rather than replace GPS.
The technology is two-way time transfer and clock modeling technology. Two-way time transfer has been used for years on the ground, but in this case will be used in space. The low size, weight and power (SWaP) space-based PNT is expected to significantly improve multi-platform remote sensing.
If the experiment is successful, CACI plans to offer the two-way time transfer PNT service to the military and other government agencies.
CACI has completed the critical design review for the DemoSat. CACI and its partner York Space Systems will also demonstrate a tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (TacISR) payload. The TacISR payload identifies and captures key signals of interest and operates with CACI’s Beast ground receiver to demonstrate real-time radiofrequency geolocation for deployed U.S. forces.
“CACI expertise, systems, and technology help our customers maintain dominance in the increasingly contested space environment,” said Mike Hale, executive vice president of CACI’s Advanced Solutions Group. “We are very proud that CACI is launching a DemoSat payload into orbit – distinguishing our mission technology and transformative solutions for customer success.”
InfiniDome, Honeywell and Easy Aerial have successfully demonstrated their new Robust Navigation System for UAVs. The system integrates GPS anti-jamming technology, a radar velocity system and an inertial navigation system into a resilient system that enables UAVs to safely operate in GNSS-challenged or denied environments.
UAV developers or end users currently try to solve the problem of GNSS jamming either by creating “safe landing protocols” in GNSS-challenged environments or by adding various types of sensors such as lidar or optical. These sensors may not work in certain scenarios, such as when flying too high, too low or too fast; in fog or darkness; or above the ocean.
The Robust Navigation System, jointly developed by Honeywell and infiniDome, tightly pairs the GNSS-based UAV-tailored Honeywell Compact Inertial Navigation System (HCINS) with infiniDome’s GNSS anti-jamming technology (GPSdome), integrated with Honeywell’s Radar-based Velocity System (HRVS). It can be installed on almost any UAV, providing continuous, accurate navigation data in GNSS-challenged or fully GNSS-denied environments.
The companies demonstrated the new navigation system for Israeli defense prime contractors and drone companies and government end-users at a testing range in the center of Israel. The system was tested against two military-grade directional jammers of different types and bandwidths on customized Osprey Hexa-copter with a PixHawk 2.1 Cube Black flight controller. The GPS 1 input was a Here2 standard GNSS receiver and antenna module; the GPS 2 input was the Robust Navigation System (GPSdome 1.03 + HCINS + HRVS).
A customized Osprey Hexa-copter demonstrated the Robust Navigation System. (Photo: InfiniDome)
The goal of the demo was to show that a UAV in a GNSS-challenged environment (single direction of jamming) and fully denied environment (multiple directions of powerful jamming) can perform autonomous tasks accurately and safely without the pilot needing to assume manual control. This included beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights.
Each test was designed to be more difficult than the preceding one and would be executed only if the latter was successful. The intention was to find the barrier at which the system fails.
The first test was maintaining the UAV height (AltHold), position (PosHold) and Loiter autonomously under jamming conditions, followed by a simple point-to-point autonomous task under the same jamming conditions.
The UAV then performed a fully autonomous task including executing a 10-point polygon and returning to the same position accurately under the same jamming conditions. Finally, the UAV was tested for lift-off performance, executing the full polygon and landing under the jamming conditions.
Protected by the Robust Navigation System, the UAV passed all planned tests.
The global security, defense and aerospace company joins alliance dedicated to protecting, promoting and enhancing the use of GPS technology
The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) is welcoming BAE Systems Inc. as the newest member of the organization. BAE Systems, a global defense, security and aerospace company, joins member companies John Deere, Garmin, Trimble, Lockheed Martin and Collins Aerospace, a unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp., as well as 11 national organizations that make up GPSIA’s affiliates program.
As the newest member of the alliance and the third aerospace and defense corporation to join the organization in eight months, BAE Systems will work with GPSIA to support its goal of enhancing GPS innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship — while advocating as the voice of the GPS industry in Washington.
“We are excited to welcome BAE Systems as the newest member of the Alliance — a monumental addition that marks the doubling of our membership in the past eight months,” said GPSIA Executive Director J. David Grossman. “The continued growth of GPSIA demonstrates the criticality of protecting GPS and the substantial value our organization delivers through advocacy, information sharing, and technical standards. We remain committed to ensuring the economic and societal benefits of GPS are fully realized.”
BAE Systems is a global leader in designing and implementing high-end technology to extend the reach and significance of GPS in defense. BAE Systems’ radiation-hardened electronics have been on board satellites and spacecraft for almost 30 years and are currently providing the high-performance onboard processing capability for the GPS III satellite mission. Promoting space resiliency for over 30 years, BAE Systems is a cornerstone of the growing importance of GPS technologies on the space frontier.
BAE Systems has not only pioneered critical technologies suitable for GPS applications in space, but has also developed, manufactured, integrated and supported GPS receivers and guidance systems for advanced military applications on land, sea or air.
The company was instrumental in the development of NAVWAR sensor technology, intended to meet growing challenges associated with maintaining military positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) advantage using satellite navigation, and has engineered top-tier jammers and navigation systems for decades. Their work has been critical in securing the safety and technological supremacy of our nation’s defenses.
“GPS is an essential part of our world — from our infrastructure and economy to the security of our nation,” said Frank Ruggiero, senior vice president, government relations, BAE Systems. “As a leading provider of defense electronics and communications systems, we are excited to join the GPS Innovation Alliance to expand the development of cutting-edge GPS technologies.”
Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies Inc. have agreed to combine in an all-stock merger of equals to create a global defense technology leader focused on developing differentiated and mission-critical solutions for customers around the world.
The combined company, L3 Harris Technologies, will be the sixth largest defense company in the U.S. and a top 10 defense company globally, with approximately 48,000 employees and customers in more than 100 countries.
For 2018, the combined company is expected to generate net revenue of approximately $16 billion.
Image: from Fact Sheet by Harris and L3 Technologies
According to the press release, increased scale will enable the combined company to be more cost competitive, expand capabilities to provide end-to-end solutions across multiple domains of air, sea, land, space and cyber, enhance leadership in RF and spectrum technologies and establish a leading platform-agnostic supplier and integrator.
L3 Harris Technologies will be headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, and led by a team that reflects the strengths and capabilities of both companies and will share equally in the integration process, the companies said.
With a combined workforce of 22,500 engineers and scientists, the combined company plans to accelerate investment in select technologies to expand leadership in key strategic domains including national security.
Image: from Fact Sheet by Harris and L3 Technologies
Company Backgrounds
Harris Corporation is a solves customers’ mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect. Harris supports government and commercial customers in more than 100 countries and has approximately $6 billion in annual revenue. The company is organized into three business segments: Communication Systems, Electronic Systems and Space and Intelligence Systems.
L3 Technologies is a provider of global ISR, communications and electronic systems for military, homeland security and commercial aviation customers. With headquarters in New York City and approximately 31,000 employees worldwide, L3 Technologies develops advanced defense technologies and commercial solutions in pilot training, aviation security, night vision and EO/IR, weapons, maritime systems and space. The company reported 2017 sales of $9.6 billion.
CEO Statements and Leadership
“This transaction extends our position as a premier global defense technology company that unlocks additional growth opportunities and generates value for our customers, employees and shareholders,” said Harris chairman, president and CEO William M. Brown. “Combining our complementary franchises and extensive technology portfolios will enable us to accelerate innovation to better serve our customers, deliver significant operating synergies and produce strong free cash flow, which we will deploy to drive shareholder value. Integration planning is already underway, and from our extensive experience with integration, we are confident in our ability to realize $500 million of annual gross cost synergies and $3 billion of free cash flow by year 3.”
L3 Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher E. Kubasik said, “This merger creates greater benefits and growth opportunities than either company could have achieved alone. The companies were on similar growth trajectories and this combination accelerates the journey to becoming a more agile, integrated and innovative non-traditional 6th Prime focused on investing in important, next-generation technologies. L3 Harris Technologies will possess a wealth of technologies and a talented and engaged workforce. By unleashing this potential, we will strengthen our core franchises, expand into new and adjacent markets and enhance our global presence.”
The combined company’s board of directors will have 12 members, consisting of six directors from each company. William M. Brown will serve as chairman and chief executive officer, and Christopher E. Kubasik will serve as vice chairman, president and chief operating officer for the first two years following the closing of the transaction. For the third year, Brown will transition to executive chairman and Kubasik to chief executive officer, after which Kubasik will become chairman and chief executive officer.
Additional senior leadership positions for L3 Harris Technologies will be determined at a later date.
Shareholder Information
Under the terms of the merger agreement, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, L3 shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 1.30 shares of Harris common stock for each share of L3 common stock, consistent with the 60-trading day average exchange ratio of the two companies.
Upon completion of the merger, Harris shareholders will own approximately 54 percent and L3 shareholders will own approximately 46 percent of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.
The merger is expected to close in mid-calendar year 2019, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and approval by the shareholders of each company.
