Category: Defense

Resilient PNT critical to maritime advancement
The ROSS project, conducted in France by companies Marlink and SeaOwl, demonstrated the feasibility of autonomous shipping. Orolia systems ensured resilient PNT. (Photo: Marlink)

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has issued a resolution for maritime cyber-risk management, effective January 2021. IMO Resolution MSC.428(98) affirms that maritime operators need to address cyber threats that risk the integrity and availability of technology systems.

GPS/GNSS signal jamming and spoofing expose the vulnerabilities of PNT-reliant systems. The single point of failure in the signals used to synchronize military operations or determine a vessel’s location leaves maritime systems open to attack. With resilient PNT, maritime and naval vessels can rely on trusted data.

Remote Operations at Sea. In September, Orolia participated in a Remotely Operated Service at Sea (ROSS) demonstration where an unmanned vessel was tele-operated from more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.

With its SecureSync Interference Detection and Mitigation (IDM) suite, Orolia provided the project’s PNT cybersecurity package and delivered precise, reliable data for the control center to pilot the vessel from afar. The IDM suite includes GNSS threat detection and mitigation, as well as the option to include encrypted and alternative signals for use in GNSS-denied environments.

After this successful demonstration, SeaOwl Group, the company leading the ROSS project, obtained the first remotely operated vessel navigation license in France.

Diving Deep. Atomic clocks and oscillators are useful for underwater operations where RF signals are unavailable to provide accurate PNT data. Precision timing technologies, such as Orolia’s Spectratime mRO-50 oscillator, ensure stable timing for navigation systems through radar. They support missions such as:
- stabilizing and synchronizing sensor measurement data collection for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)
- providing holdover to maintain precise positioning on submarines during extended periods of GNSS signal denial
- generating precise frequencies with low phase noise and less burden on radio receiver architecture, such as search-and-rescue control centers
- operating with low power consumption and increasing the reliability of radio reception.
Resilient PNT is essential at sea, from military missions and commercial freight shipping to port management, search and rescue, research and fishing operations. Jamming and spoofing detection, threat mitigation, and alternative PNT sources configured in multiple layers of protection can ensure continuous operations, even in compromised environments. In shallow or deep-water environments, Orolia’s portfolio includes critical infrastructure support for naval command-and-control centers, essential GNSS vulnerability testing and services, and wearable solutions that fit in the palm of a hand.
November 9, 2020
CGI to develop service to alert UK of GNSS disruption

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to London-based CGI to develop a GNSS Event Notification Service (GENS) capable of monitoring the United Kingdom (U.K.) GNSS spectrum to enable effective alerting and reporting of position, navigation and time (PNT) disruption.

GENS will integrate CGI’s PNT Incident Event Monitoring (PNTIEM) system with existing U.K.-developed sensors from Ordnance Survey’s network (OS NET) of GNSS receivers and GMV NSL’s Detector, GISMO and Strike 3 interface technologies.

Bringing together existing systems will build on proven technologies, reducing the cost of development of a large-scale monitoring network while providing the ability to introduce new services for detecting GNSS events and disruption, according to a CSI press release.

Supported by the OS and GMV NSL, CGI will lead the delivery of GENS using an agile software delivery experience, supported by system design and DevSecOps development and integration skills. An open interface will be offered for future providers of GNSS measurements or spectrum event data.

Alongside the GENS system technical delivery, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) will develop a GNSS guidance document in partnership with U.K. government departments, agencies, CNI operators, professional institutes, academic institutes and commercial organizations to enable informed requirements development, procurement, deployment and support of HMG GNSS-reliant services.

Reviewed alongside events identified by GENS, the combined offering will highlight and inform stakeholders on risks posed by the loss of PNT services as identified by the PNT Strategy Group Interim Report in April 2020.

GENS will also respond to HMG’s “Satellite-derived time and position: a study of critical dependencies” report which identified the need for mitigation to GNSS disruption and estimated the economic impact to the U.K. economy of a five-day disruption to GNSS at £5.2 billion.

The full GENS system will enable users across both commercial and public sector services to subscribe to be informed of both GNSS quality and interference events for regions of interest. By focusing on these events and the improved understanding of the risk posed by disruption, stakeholders will be better informed to enable them to build system resilience or to respond to the disruption of GNSS within the U.K.

‘‘Detecting and monitoring GNSS is core to better understanding the scale and risk posed by PNT disruption in the U.K. and across all ESA member states,” said Rafael Lucas Rodriguez, technical officer for GENS, European Space Agency. “ESA is supporting CGI to develop effective tools enabling a system to be created utilizing previous ESA and UK HMG work. This will bring direct benefits for U.K. public and private stakeholders.”

“The U.K. is a leading investor in GNSS research,” said Andy Proctor, U.K. lead delegate to the ESA Programme Board for Navigation. “Understanding GNSS spectrum quality is vital for the stability of PNT services in the U.K. This program will help promote and address GNSS disruption affecting PNT services while supporting the U.K.’s thriving space sector and the wider economy.”

“This is an exciting project that brings together CGI’s navigation and spectrum domain expertise supported by scaled agile and DevSecOps delivery experience,” said John Hanley, vice president of secure and assured space solutions at CGI in the U.K. “After talking to both public and private stakeholders for GNSS, it became clear that one of the initial challenges is understanding the scale of PNT disruption. GNSS services touch every part of society across finance, utilities, transport and defense and need to be protected.”

CGI has been delivering complex, mission-critical space software systems for clients across Europe, Asia and North America, supporting satellite navigation, communications, operations and space enabled applications for more than 40 years.

Feature photo: alice-photo/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

October 29, 2020
Emcore’s EN-300 FOG IMU in high-rate production

EN-300 Precision Fiber Optic IMU/INS (Photo: Emcore)

Emcore Corp.’s EN-300 FOG (fiber optic gyro) inertial measurement unit (IMU) is now in high-rate production and is broadly available for purchase with 12-week lead times. The EN-300 was announced in April.

Based in Alhambra, California, Emcore providees advanced mixed-signal products that serve the aerospace, defense and broadband communications markets.

Emcore’s EN-300 offers up to 10 times the bias performance of legacy systems in a form, fit and function compatible package, the company said. This improved performance makes the EN-300 suitable for GPS-denied navigation, precise targeting and line-of-sight stabilization requirements for unmanned aerial vehicles as well as other demanding applications.

Emcore has successfully completed a comprehensive Design Verification Testing (DVT) regimen over tough environmental conditions and has provided numerous proof-of-technology IMUs globally to defense contractor primes and aerospace customers seeking to upgrade their platforms and systems. Emcore is now expanding production of the EN-300 with strict manufacturing process and quality controls in place to enhance on-time delivery and specification compliance.

“Given the strong market interest and demand, we are extremely pleased to announce the production ramp-up and broad availability for purchase of the EN-300,” said David Hoyh, Emcore’s director of sales & marketing for navigation products. “Emcore’s vertical integration creates unique capabilities that enable us to deliver the higher level of performance demanded by the market, coupled with greater precision and lower cost to further benefit our customers.”

According to Emcore, the EN-300 precision FOG IMU is a three-axis, closed-loop design using the Company’s proprietary, solid-state FOG transceiver with advanced integrated optics, offering improved reliability and lower cost than legacy IMUs. It can be ordered with performance options tailored to specific customer requirements.

The COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) EN-300-3 model achieves bias in-run stability as low as 0.04 degree/hr with ARW (Angle Random Walk) of 0.015 degree/rt-hr. The non-ITAR EN-300 is superior in performance to older generation such as the closed-loop LN-200 IMU or open-loop KVH 1750 series IMU units that have higher bias over temperature drift.

October 29, 2020
Inertial Labs launches Kernel-100 IMU with MEMS sensors

Photo: Inertial Labs

Inertial Labs is offering a new industrial-grade inertial measurement unit (IMU) for aerospace and defense applications, among others.

The Kernel-100 is a compact, self-contained strapdown IMU that measures linear acceleration and angular rates with three-axis MEMS accelerometers and three-axis MEMS gyroscopes.

The Kernel-100 is fully calibrated, temperature compensated, mathematically aligned to an orthogonal coordinate system. It contains up to 2 deg/hr bias in-run stability gyroscopes and 10 μg bias in-run stability accelerometers with extremely low noise and high repeatability.

The Kernel-100 is a fully integrated inertial solution that includes the newest MEMS sensor technologies. With seamless integration, the Kernel-100 inertial system is a cost-effective high performance yet compact and low-power IMU, the company said. The Kernel-100 is easy to integrate in a wide range of higher order systems while consuming very little space and power.

With continuous built-in test (BIT), configurable communications protocols, electromagnetic interference protection, and flexible input power requirements, the Kernel-100 is built to be used in a wide variety of environments and integrated system applications.

Built for air, marine and land environments, the Kernel-100 can be integrated into motion reference units, attitude and heading reference systems, and GPS-aided inertial navigation systems. As a result, the Kernel-100 is suitable for a wide variety of applications such as autonomous vehicles, antenna and line-of-sight stabilizations systems, and buoy or boat motion monitoring.

Inertial Labs provides innovative solutions to commerce, industry and government for defense and aerospace.

October 28, 2020
L3Harris to help DOD with artificial intelligence, machine learning

L3Harris Technologies will help the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) develop artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) systems to help reduce the amount of time it takes to decipher usable intelligence from increasing amounts of data collected from space and airborne assets.

L3Harris will research, develop and demonstrate an AI/ML interface using data science techniques under a new multimillion-dollar contract to support DOD applications.

“L3Harris’ work will allow the DOD to turn massive volumes of data into actionable intelligence,” said Ed Zoiss, president, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris. “The abundance of data collected by space and airborne assets is only increasing. The findings of this research will directly address the data processing challenges within the DOD and intelligence community.”

Awarded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the contract supports the DOD’s initiative to accelerate the integration of big data and AI/ML within the agency.

L3Harris will perform the work in Rochester, New York; Melbourne, Florida; and Herndon, Virginia.

October 26, 2020
Hexagon Geospatial updates platform for location intelligence
Luciad 2020.1 provides capabilities with panoramic imagery. (Screenshot: Hexagon Geospatial)

Luciad 2020.1 features dynamic panoramic imagery capabilities and immersive 3D imagery

Hexagon’s Geospatial division has launched Luciad 2020.1, a significant update to its platform for building advanced location intelligence and real-time, situational awareness applications.

Luciad 2020.1 delivers immersive 3D experiences with 360-degree panoramic imagery support that can be combined with other 3D data layers for geospatial applications. The latest release also features additional styling for 3D meshes and 3D data integration capabilities.

Visualization and Analysis

Hexagon’s Luciad portfolio allows developers to create powerful, high-performance applications that leverage data from any source for visualization and analysis in 2D and 3D. Combining static, dynamic and real-time data, including moving tracks, Luciad-powered applications support defense, aviation, infrastructure and other critical sectors.

For the 2020.1 release of LuciadRIA, which is used for building browser-based solutions, Hexagon has added 360-degree panoramic imagery capabilities that can be combined with other 3D data layers to provide complete imagery coverage and detailed information about a location. Panoramic imagery puts users in control of what they want to look at within an image. The panoramic 3D experience is powered by a new streaming imagery data service in LuciadFusion, Hexagon’s OGC-compliant server solution.

“With the addition of panoramic imagery capabilities and other 3D data enhancements, Luciad 2020.1 puts local governments, transportation departments, utility companies and others in control of what they can observe and analyze within a particular scene,” said Mladen Stojic, president of Hexagon’s Geospatial division. “With these capabilities, organizations can remotely monitor their assets and infrastructure, significantly reduce manual inspection processes and fully leverage location intelligence across the enterprise.”

More New Features

The release contains other new features and improvements requested by customers, including:
- military grid coordinate transformations
- non-georeferenced WebGL-based views
- improved imagery sampling
- additional format support and upgrades.
For defense customers, the Luciad 2020.1 release consolidates its military symbology support across all Luciad platforms and programming languages.
October 22, 2020
Dead-end? Robotic platoon can now reverse with trailers attached

Photo: Robotic Research

Robotic Research LLC has added Retrotraverse to its AutoDrive-M autonomy kit. The autonomy kit is equipped on the U.S. Army’s Palettized Load System (PLS) logistics trucks.

Robotic Research demonstrated the Retrotraverse capabilities with three of the U.S. Army’s PLS trucks, each towing trailers. “This is a major step forward for our company and has broad application both in autonomy and platooning. The capability solves the potentially life-threatening problem of an autonomous platoon of military vehicles being unable to navigate out of a dangerous situation,” said Alberto Lacaze, president of Robotic Research. “This automated platooning capability will ultimately extend the reach of soldiers without putting them in harm’s way.”

The Retrotraverse feature allows a platoon of heavy-duty trucks with trailers to autonomously reverse. Several autonomous vehicle providers in the trucking industry are demonstrating platooning in benign conditions, where the weather is ideal and road surfaces are smooth and marked.

Robotic Research has been specifically focusing on addressing the edge cases, such as poor weather, dust and off-road conditions, to ensure a robust autonomous system that is necessary for operating in all conditions and during mission-critical operations for the military.

If a platoon drives into a dead end, or similar edge case where it cannot make a U-turn, the platoon of vehicles with trailers needs to be able to reverse out of the situation. Retrotraverse can make this happen.

“Anyone who has backed up a truck with a trailer knows how difficult it is to navigate,” said Joe Putney, director of commercial systems at Robotic Research. “The autonomous Retrotraverse feature was able to reverse a truck and trailer faster than even our most skilled drivers. This feature is not just lifesaving, it’s time-saving, and it has the ability to reduce one of the greatest pains truck drivers have.”

In 2018, Robotic Research was awarded a three-year, $49.7 million contract by the U.S. Army to provide its autonomy kit for large convoy resupply vehicles. Robotic Research has since delivered nearly 100 unmanned platooning trucks.

October 15, 2020
Collins Aerospace wins contract to improve anti-jamming for warfighters

The United States Army has awarded Collins Aerospace a Phase III contract to build the second generation of its Mounted Assured Position Navigation and Timing System (MAPS).

The MAPS program adds anti-jamming capability for soldiers in GPS-contested environments. In 2019, MAPS Gen I units were installed on Stryker vehicles of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany.

Phase 3 of the MAPS Gen II program “begins combat platform integration in preparation for low-rate initial production,” according to an Oct. 7 Army press release.

MAPS Gen II includes M-code GPS receivers, provided by BAE Systems, along with anti-jamming antennas, sensor fusion and inertial measurement units to deliver assured PNT to soldiers.

MAPS Gen II is part of the Army’s goal to accelerate the development and fielding of modernized soldier capabilities.

“Less than a year after we equipped the first generation of MAPS in Europe we’re already pushing forward with the development of Gen II,” said Willie Nelson, director of the the Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (APNT) Cross-Functional Team (CFT). “This award comes less than a month after our Mounted APNT requirement was approved. The timing could not be better.”

MAPS Gen I includes A and B kits, consisting of cable and mounts to use on a vehicle and a military GPS paired with non-radio frequency technologies.

The Phase III Other Transaction Authority contract covers product maturation and begins combat platform integration, clearing the path to low rate initial production.

Army Stryker ground combat vehicle.
(Photo: Karolis Kavolelis / Shutterstock.com)

The MAPS GEN II is comprised of the NavHub-100 PNT Distribution Device, the Multi-Sensor Antenna System (MSAS-100) and an optional speed sensor. The NavHub-100 works in concert with the MSAS-100 to produce a trusted A-PNT solution that can be distributed through serial interface, Victory Ethernet and RF distribution to multiple client systems.

MAPS GEN II supports the U.S. Army PNT Reference Architecture by leveraging modular technologies from across Collins’ A-PNT portfolio and industry. This scalable architecture builds upon the modular open system architecture (MOSA) standards and includes the All Source Positioning and Navigation (ASPN) generic message definition to support plug-and-play sensor integration and the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) to host portable software capabilities.

The MAPS GEN II system not only supports direct replacement of the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) on military platforms, it also provides exceptional A-PNT performance in GPS-contested and GPS-denied environments.

October 8, 2020
New US Army PNT office welcomes industry on GPS-denied solutions

The U.S. Army is opening a new office and laboratory to develop agile position, navigation and timing solutions to reduce soldiers’ dependence on GPS, according to reports in C4ISRNET and Defense News.

The new PNT modernization product office will focus on developing and deploying solutions that keep soldiers operating in areas where the GPS signal has been denied, degraded or spoofed. The office will open Oct. 8, and will use an open-systems architecture.

The new office will also host an Open Innovation Lab, a space where commercial entities can work with the Army to develop PNT solutions. Within lab, the Army has set aside space for the CMOSS (C4ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards) Lab and the Network Cross-Functional Team’s Orion Forge at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

The lab will be physically separated from the more classified areas of the site to encourage engagement with industry. Technologies to be explored include radio frequency systems, GPS, alt-nav, chip-scale atomic clocks, other timing technologies and celestial navigation.

According to the reports, the technologies will be fielded fast, with new solutions every five years. This is in contrast to the usual method of a decade spent developing technologies meant to last 20 years so that soldiers can always combat adversaries’ capabilities.

Andradige Silva, electronics engineer for the C5ISR Center’s Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate, and Maj. Doug Williams, assistant product manager for the Joint Battle Command-Platform, access the C4ISR/Electronic Warfare Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS). (Photo: U.S. Army)

September 25, 2020
Russia tests new GLONASS-guided missile

Photo: Russia Ministry of Defense

The Russian Defense Ministry has tested new ammunition for its Tornado-S missile system, which is delivered via the multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), reports Russian newspaper Izvestia. Tornado-S is an ultra-long-range missile with a previous flight.

The new MLRS is equipped with GLONASS signal reception equipment and an automated guidance and fire control system. The operator can enter coordinates into the system and give the command to set the guides and open fire. In addition, the system can itself receive and process information from reconnaissance vehicles and drones. For each missile, both range and azimuth angle can be set. The MLRS can launch 12 missile at once.

Previously, the declared flight range of the Tornado-S missiles was about 120 km. Distance with the new ammunition was not disclosed, but the goal was 200 km. The main feature of the missiles is the ability to turn on the target after launch.

The Russian Army was expected to receive 30+ Tornado MLRS this year.

September 22, 2020
Space weather bill passed by US Congress to improve forecasting, mitigation
The effects of space weather on critical Earth systems. (Image: NASA)

The United States Congress has passed bipartisan legislation to address how the government deals with threats posed by emissions from the Sun to critical infrastructure such as GPS.

The Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow (PROSWIFT) Act S.881 now awaits signature by the president.

The bill sets forth provisions to improve the ability of the United States to forecast space weather events and mitigate its effects.

It provides statutory authority for the National Science and Technology Council’s Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation Working Group, which coordinates executive branch efforts to understand, prepare, coordinate, and plan for space weather.

The bill directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science Foundation, Air Force, Navy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Security Council, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to carry out specified space weather activities.

The legislation
- assigns roles and responsibilities to agencies involved in space weather research and forecasting
- ensures agency coordination to better predict severe space weather events and mitigate impacts
- calls for coordination between the government and the non-governmental space weather community including academia, the commercial sector and international partners.
Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced the first version of the bill in 2016 and a successor passed the Senate in 2017. Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and Mo Brooks (R-AL) shepherded it through the House, which passed it Sept. 16.
September 17, 2020
Spirent Federal announces M-code updates with SimMNSA v2.0

Photo: Spirent Federal

GNSS simulator company Spirent Federal Systems will soon release SimMNSA 2.0. The release adds advanced scenario controls that enable full recreation of government test vectors while retaining the simple key and fly option of the initial release.

Spirent Federal developed software that supports M-code signals using the Modernized Navstar Security Algorithm (MNSA). SimMNSA 1.0 was released in 2018 and is now used in laboratories throughout the country with receivers from all M-code manufacturers.

“SimMNSA is the first MNSA-based M-code signal simulation to receive government security approval,” said Ellen Hall, President and CEO. “We pride ourselves in being leaders in innovation and we will continue to push ourselves to meet the growing needs of our customers.”

Release 2.0 of Spirent Federal’s SimMNSA is scheduled for later this year. It will be available to authorized users of the GSS9000 Series, at no additional cost to current SimMNSA users under maintenance contracts.

September 15, 2020