GPS World

Tag: General Dynamics

  • General Dynamics unveils combat survival radio with GPS

    General Dynamics unveils combat survival radio with GPS

    General Dynamics Mission Systems has introduced its HOOK3 combat survival radio.

    The HOOK3 radio is 30 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the HOOK2 radio, and has a smaller, longer lasting battery, the company said.

    In addition, the embedded GPS module has 32 channels enabling a faster position acquisition time, more accurate position reporting and better performance under forested or densely vegetated areas or near structures.

    The radio transmits encrypted GPS, user identification, situation reports and other critical information to rescue teams and aircraft in short bursts to reduce the risk of detection. The radio can also use multiple GNSS.

    The new radio provides direct line-of-sight voice and encrypted two-way data communications to help combat search and rescue teams quickly and accurately locate and rescue downed pilots and isolated military personnel, the company added.

    The HOOK3 was designed using feedback from military personnel who rely on a survival radio in emergency situations. The new radio automatically activates and securely transmits location data when specific G-Force or the presence of salt water is detected by the radio.

    “General Dynamics has delivered more than 36,000 combat search and rescue radios to 36 countries over the past 30 years,” said Paul Parent, a vice president of General Dynamics Mission Systems. “These radios have helped save the lives of military personnel isolated or in harm’s way during a mission.”

    “The HOOK3 provides military personnel in emergency situations a highly reliable, easy-to-use, secure radio critical to their successful recovery.”

    The General Dynamics HOOK3 radio is interoperable with all HOOK2 family radios, Quickdraw2 and SATCOM base stations currently used by U.S. and international military personnel.

    The HOOK3 is designed for coalition operations, and the user-friendly transceiver is software-defined, enabling new features, waveforms and software upgrades to be added as they become available.

  • Sky-Watch Partners with General Dynamics on UAVs for Defense

    Sky-Watch Partners with General Dynamics on UAVs for Defense

    Artist's concept of the proposed Airborne Swarm Protection Shield by GDELS and Sky-Watch.
    Artist’s concept of the proposed Airborne Swarm Protection Shield over a GDELS armored vehicle (image courtesy of Sky-Watch).

    General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) has signed a Memorandum of Interest (MOI) with Danish UAV company Sky-Watch in Støvring, which allows the two companies to explore potential areas of cooperation within next-generation applications of UAV technology in the battlefield.

    “Sky-Watch is constantly striving to be at the forefront of the rapidly developing UAV technology,” said Michael Messerschmidt, Sky-Watch chief business development officer. “We offer our vast accumulated know-how within sensor fusion to our partners, in the pursuit of finding new ways to solve tomorrow’s challenges. We constantly rethink and redefine the value proposition, of our own as well as our partners’ ideas and concepts and I believe that we can identify some very exiting avenues of cooperation with General Dynamics European Land Systems.”

    Sky-Watch offers the Huginn X1 multi-purpose Quadrotor UAV deployed all over the world and is developing the Muninn X1, a next-generation fixed-Wing VTOL UAV. The future of UAVs in the battlefield will be explored by Sky-Watch Labs, the research and development arm of Sky-Watch, in cooperation with partners such as the Technical University of Denmark on a variety of projects.

    With regard to the acquisition of new Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) for the Danish Army, General Dynamics European Land Systems is prepared to take its partnerships with Danish industry to the next level and explore business in adjacent markets like the one of Sky-Watch. GDELS has signed Industry Cooperation agreements with 40 Danish companies of all sizes across the country, and has already defined projects in excess of 3,7  billion  kroner covering all of the technology areas defined in the Danish Government’s Defence industry strategy.

    “Throughout the past 20 years, GDELS Industry Cooperation program has been one of the catalysts for the development of the Danish defence industry. We have executed projects of almost 1,7 billion kroner with the industry, which has helped to contribute to the development of new products and technologies in a variety of companies. By engaging with an innovative and creative company such as Sky-Watch, we help plant the seed for the future of the Danish defence industry,” said Jens Bauer, GDELS Senior Director International Business & Services, responsible for Industrial Participation.

    GDELS’s Industry Cooperation plan for the APC program is based on 20 years of experience and partnership with Danish industry. The program expands relationships beyond production and sustainment contracts to also include research & development projects, which will lay the foundation for growth in the Danish Defence industry for decades to come.

  • General Dynamics Awarded $25M by Lockheed for GPS III Program

    At least some of the work on GPS III continues along prepared tracks, with the award of a Lockheed Martin contract to General Dynamics for two more satellites’ worth of communications hardware. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, was awarded a $25.4 million full-production contract from Lockheed Martin to support the GPS III Network Communications Element (NCE) for space vehicles seven and eight (SV 07-08). This commitment fills out that aspect of the current Lockheed Martin  bevy of eight bought by the U.S. Air Force.

    Many if not all components of the GPS III constellation beyond the Initial Eight have been called into question recently, with the U.S. Senate, the Air Force, and Lockheed itself keeping open minds about alternatives.

    General Dynamics’ NCE components provide the communications functions for the GPS III satellites, including the ground-to-space command and control channel, the space-to-space inter-satellite channel and the command and telemetry communications channels within each satellite. General Dynamics is now under contract with Lockheed Martin for GPS III SV 01-08. Delivery of the NCE components for SV03 and SV04 are scheduled for this summer.

    Compared to prior GPS vehicles, the Air Force’s GPS III satellites will deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times more powerful anti-jamming capabilities and include enhancements that extend spacecraft life 25 percent further. GPS III-series satellites also will carry a new civil signal designed to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems, enhancing civilian-user connectivity.

    The majority of the work under contract will be performed at the General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Bloomington, Minnesota.

  • General Dynamics Awarded $26M for GPS III Communications

    General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a $26 million contract from Lockheed Martin to support the U.S. Air Force GPS III  Network Communications Element (NCE).

    General Dynamics is already under contract with Lockheed Martin to produce the NCE for the first four GPS III space vehicles (SV01-SV04), as well as for the procurement of long lead material for the second set of four space vehicles (SV05-SV08). This follow-on contract provides General Dynamics with the funding to complete the NCE for SV05 and SV06.

    General Dynamics’ NCE components provide the communications functions for the GPS III satellites, including the ground-to-space command and control channel, the space-to-space inter-satellite channel, and the command and telemetry communications channels within each satellite. NCE components have been delivered for SV01 and SV02. The NCEs for SV03 and SV04 are scheduled for delivery by June 2014.

    “We bring more than a half-century of experience in the spacecraft communications and navigation domain to this program,” said Kirstan Rock, vice president and general manager of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. “We look forward to continuing working with Lockheed Martin to deliver high-quality, reliable and affordable solutions to the Air Force to advance their mission.”

    The Air Force’s next-generation GPS III satellites will improve position, navigation and timing services and provide advanced anti-jam capabilities yielding superior system security, accuracy and reliability.

    GPS III is a critically important program for the U.S. Air Force, affordably replacing the aging constellation of GPS satellites currently in orbit. Compared to prior GPS vehicles, GPS III satellites will deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times more powerful anti-jamming capabilities and include enhancements that extend spacecraft life 25 percent further. GPS III-series satellites also will carry a new civil signal designed to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems, enhancing civilian user connectivity.