DT Research has released the DT395CR and DT395GS rugged tablets. While designed for field professionals, the tablets cost less than consumer-grade tablets over the lifetime of the product, DT Research said.
The DT395GS rugged tablet by DT Research.
Both DT395 tablets are highly durable to withstand extreme environments, designed with fully integrated options to eliminate easily broken attachments in mission-critical scenarios, and include security, privacy and productivity settings.
The DT395GS tablet is designed for field applications with a high-accuracy GNSS module that is compatible with existing GIS software for mapping applications and brings together the advanced workflow for GIS data capture, accurate positioning and data transmission. The u-blox M8 GNSS module is capable of concurrent reception of GPS and GLONASS for up to 2-meter accuracy.
“Many businesses have adopted mobile tablets with the goal of increasing productivity by leveraging the versatile tablet form-factor,” said Daw Tsai, president of DT Research. “But companies within construction, field service, logistics, manufacturing and warehousing have found that consumer-grade tablets are too fragile for their environment — requiring costly repairs and replacements that introduce expensive downtime. Our new DT395 rugged tablets give vertical industries exactly what they need with high reliability and lower TCO (total cost of ownership) over the lifetime of the product.”
According to a VDC Research study, the average annual TCO of a ruggedized tablet is 22 percent lower than the average annual TCO of a non-rugged tablet. The study found average failure rates for non-rugged tablets is 15.2 percent compared to 6.9 percent for rugged tablets. Lost productivity, as a result of mobile device failure, was a leading contributor to higher TCO for non-rugged tablets. Mobile workers lost an average of 52-80 minutes of productivity when their mobile device failed. (Source: VDC Research, “Total Cost of Ownership Models for Mobile Computing and Wireless Platforms,” Third Edition.)
Unlike consumer-grade tablets, the DT395CR and DT395GS ruggedized tablets are designed to be used in a variety of indoor and outdoor environments with full HD anti-reflection outdoor viewable displays. The tablets are IP65 and MIL-STD-810G rated to withstand 4-foot drops and extreme temperatures (-4° F to 140° F), and resist water, dust and humidity.
“We tried iPads, but they were not suited for our environment,” said Marty Phillips, director of engineering at Murray Equipment, Inc. “Our customers do millions of dollars of fertilizer loading within an eight-week window in a broad range of weather conditions. If a remote control tablet is down for even an hour, it’s a significant revenue loss. We have used DT Research rugged tablets in our automated liquid-handling facilities across the U.S. for more than three years with no downtime or repair/replacement costs. The reliability of DT Research’s rugged tablets is unmatched.”
Both the DT395CR and DT395GS have an 8.9-inch display with 1920 x 1200 resolution and capacitive touch, and weigh 2.87 pounds. The tablets run on an Intel Atom Quad Core CPU with 4GB RAM running Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS.
Security, privacy and productivity settings
“Security, privacy and productivity are a growing concern in many organizations,” Helen Fanucci, GM of Americas Device IoT Experience, Microsoft. “We are pleased to see DT Research utilize the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise-grade security to support mission-critical rugged tablets for customers and deliver a safer device experience, which enhances productivity for a variety of mobile scenarios in manufacturing, field service, logistics and other industries.”
The DT395 tablets leverage advanced Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS security including Device Guard, combining hardware and software security to lock down a device so that it can only run trusted applications. The DT395 also includes lock-down features to protect against malicious users while providing a custom-defined user experience.
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and RFID can pose a security issue when using consumer-grade tablets within a business environment. DT Research DT395 rugged tablets can be purpose-built with a camera privacy mode and
preconfigured with Bluetooth, RFID and Wi-Fi disable functions. The DT395 rugged tablets can also eliminate access to internet or social media applications to address productivity challenges.
Customizable options
DT Research offers customizable options for the DT395CR and DT395GS including an optimized OS and BIOS. Customers can choose to have the options below fully-integrated.
3G WWAN or 4G LTE
2D Barcode Scanner
Class 1 Bluetooth (1000 feet)
Camera (5 Megapixel back camera)
GNSS Module (u-blox M8)
HF/RFID 13.56MHz reader
HDMI-in and Ethernet port
Six-pin push/pull connector for EIA/RS-232/485/422, USB port and Ethernet port
Lockheed Martin has pushed back the delivery of the first GPS III satellite by four months after discovering that a subcontractor failed to conduct testing on a ceramic capacitor, part of the navigation payload, according to Bloomberg.
Delivery of the satellite was expected in August, but will now be delayed four more months and won’t be shipped until at least December. The satellite is already 28 months late.
While the Air Force has said the satellite would launch no earlier than 2017, some industry officials expect that a 2018 launch is more likely especially as the Pentagon absorbs delays with the next-generation GPS ground system known as the Operational Control Segment, Bloomberg reports.
Read more about the federal budget’s impact on GPS in Contributing Editor Don Jewell’s latest Defense PNT column.
Testing of the part, a ceramic capacitor, should have been completed as long as five years ago, including evaluating how long it will operate without failing, Colonel Steve Whitney, program manager for the GSP program, told the website. About 600 of the capacitors are on the initial satellite, which cost approximately $529 million.
The capacitor is part of a series of circuit cards that take higher voltage power from the satellite’s power system and reduce it to a voltage required for a particular subsystem.
Halloween may occur in October for the civil and commercial population, but for the U.S. government (USG) all the craziness of the spooky season starts in earnest in September. The end of the USG’s fiscal year (FY) ends the last day of September, and Oct. 1 is a whole new ballgame from a monetary and budgeting perspective.
All the machinations begin: balancing budgets, ensuring monies have been fully allocated and spent, determining surplus funds and figuring out what programs need additional year-end funds.
Certainly the process begins far in advance of September, but the last 30 days of the FY are historically a circus. Anyone who has ever been through it, especially as a budgeteer or program director, knows the anguish and anxious moments involved. If you think this all sounds a bit more dramatic than necessary for simple funding and budgeting issues, then think again.
Budgeteers inside and outside the USG (prime contractors and small companies as well) are all vying for what is known as fallout money. These are funds that “fall out” because a program has failed to meet timelines, specifications or certifications; funds that fall out because a program came in early and under budget (a rarity); or funds that fall out just because of over-confidence in flying hours or lack of equipment availability. Regardless of the reason, the fact is that fallout funds at the end of the FY have significant impacts on all USG programs.
For example, as a PM or program manager, if your program is doing well and maybe even ahead of schedule, and the customer is chomping at the bit to put your hardware or software in place, then you might be allocated additional fallout funds as a sign of confidence and support from the government. This is what Program of Record (POR) PMs love to see happen, because it means there is faith in their program and in their ability to manage it and bring it home; this can include promotions and more responsibility on the horizon.
Conversely, if your program is in trouble, over budget and behind schedule, and the USG lacks faith in your ability to complete the POM (Program Objective Memorandum), then your funds may well be cannibalized to support other programs. This is something no PM likes to see happen. It is a downer for the USG, the POR and the career of the PM. Yes, for PMs, every September is a report card, and the grades are rarely ambiguous or subtle.
Of course, the organization that allocates and authorizes USG funding at the beginning of the FY, better known as the U.S. Congress, plays a role here as well; many take a vacation or flee to the hinterlands during this time of bureaucratic chaos and get out of town. For 2016 and the 114th Congress, the Senate is in session just 14 days of the month and the House of Representatives convenes for about 10 days on average.
As the former Legislative Director (LD) for Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), I actually had the honor to serve as the first LD for AFSPC. This worried me a great deal until I discovered that, fortunately, while a few congressional members were in recess or at home backslapping and politicking with constituents, the congressional staffs remained in D.C. and were hard at work. This is important because, during the craziness and bargaining of September fallouts, critical decisions are often made that determine the future of PORs and many smaller but critical efforts by small businesses as well. If you are a government contractor, small or large, prime or sub, September is not a time to take a vacation or lay on the beach, rather you need to be an active player in the fall flurry of hyperactivity.
This year Senator John McCain from Arizona and the SECDEF (Secretary of Defense) the honorable Ash Carter both have plans and are pushing for new acquisition strategies as well as separate schemes to revamp Department of Defense (DoD) Command and Control systems. Unfortunately, neither plan has a support system for small businesses.
Space Systems
SpaceX launch of an OrbComm satellite in December 2015. (Photo: SpaceX)
For space programs this coming year, obviously current and future launch activities are at the forefront. Congress must decide to either fund Russian engine procurement or say no to future Russian engine purchases, determine whether the United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a survivor and competitor, and decide where SpaceX plays in the whole scenario now that they have thrown a monkey wrench into the mix by experiencing another Falcon 9 failure on Sept. 9 after so many successes.
Interestingly, SpaceX actions in the main seem to be the right decisions. They are at the forefront of commercial launch and recovery technology, and other than Blue Origin, they are the only company recovering the initial stages of their launch vehicles for reuse. Of course that reuse can only occur if the launch is successful in the first place.
While SpaceX certainly cannot afford more launch failures, the conundrum concerning the latest Falcon 9 catastrophe is that it was not actually a launch failure; rather, it was an accident that occurred on the launch pad. Who knows? Future investigations, performed primarily by SpaceX and the FAA, may show SpaceX was not at fault.
The fueling explosion could easily have been caused by a ruptured refueling hose, a stray spark or ungrounded support equipment, we just don’t know. It is entirely too early to rush to judgment and blame it all on SpaceX. We should and, indeed, must take a wait and see attitude.
However, just so you know for comparison, ULA has performed more than 100 successful launches without a single failure. Many of those used the infamous Russian RD-180 engine as a core. So, to say that launch is a topic of national and Congressional concern during the September chaos is putting it mildly.
SV 01 in testing at Lockheed Martin’s Denver facility. (Photo: LMCO)
According to my sources, an omitted qualification test of a tiny capacitor in the GPS III payload will move the GPS III program’s availability for launch (AFL) from August to December 2016. My sources and my experience as a space operator tell me the qualification test — which over-stresses the capacitor’s integrity to survive multiple mission lives — is really not an issue. The satellite should be delivered before the end of the year, well ahead of the Air Force’s planned first GPS III launch date of March 2018.
My experience also tells me that it is much more likely that, rather than a tiny capacitor issue, the launch schedule for the first GPS III will be affected by the as-yet-unresolved SpaceX explosion on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral; the damage to the launchpad and nearby facilities; the launch slips due to the ripple effect of the subsequent accident investigations, along with new safety and fueling procedures that may need to be implemented and tested; the rescheduling of other missions, handled in the military by the USAF Current Launch Schedule Review Board or CLSRB; and the lack of an available MEO (Medium Earth Orbit)-capable launch vehicle.
And, of course, you need a ground control system (which I go into more below).
Position, navigation and timing (PNT) programs
Concerning PNT, Congress is debating when to award Lockheed Martin GPS III satellites 9 and 10, which by the way, will not carry an NDS (Nuclear Detonation Detection System) payload, a first for GPS space vehicles (SV) since the first NDS was launched on the sixth Block I SV on April 26, 1980. At the time, the NDS payload was known by the ungainly moniker IONDS, or the Integrated Operational Nuclear Detonation Detection System.
The new, redesigned NDS payload is simply not ready for prime time, and hence LMCO will delete that portion of the payload from GPS III SVs 9 and 10. So, although the GPS III family of GPS vehicles will be as similar as possible, in fact the last two, currently scheduled (which we hear may be awarded to LMCO this month), will be radically different in some respects, and in others be exactly the same.
This leads us to the question concerning exactly when the real competition for GPS III SV 11+ will truly get underway. Right now, the competition is in the formative and PowerPoint stages for some competitors, although a couple have bent hardware and are writing some software support programs. The USG has awarded each team, including LMCO, a few million dollars to keep them interested and to defray early non-recurring costs, but the competition has yet to truly heat up. Might some year-end fallout money be made available for the competitors? We shall have to wait and see.
OCX
OCX, the future ground control segment of GPS, is so far over budget and schedule that the end-point is not even visible on the event horizon. Most pundits put the completion date, if it is continued as the POR, at 2023 and beyond, seven years late and $3.5 billion over budget.
Certainly no fallout funds can cover such a Nunn-McCurdy breach, but fallout funds might become available for alternative courses of action (COA). There’s a thought to keep USG budgeteers and small company CEOs and CFOs awake at night.
What might the future hold? Large primes not withstanding, small businesses are a major player in all major USG programs. Karen Mills, former head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), wrote in the Harvard Business Review recently, “Half the people who work in this country [USA] either own or are employed by businesses with fewer than 500 employees.”
At the same time, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that SBA statistics show these same small companies produce 46 percent of private economic output and 33 percent of the value of U.S. exports. Even so (paraphrasing the report), the [USG] is sometimes guilty of not paying sufficient attention to small firms. Is it time for the USG to look at proven small-company capabilities where OCX is concerned?
Just a thought, whose time may well be long overdue. As Nitin Nohria, dean of the Harvard Business School, wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “I do hope that the question of how to create policies that support small companies gets more attention during the coming debates and the final few weeks of this presidential campaign.”
Research and development (R&D)
We could go on and on considering PNT or GPS military user equipment (MUE), the advantages of GNSS considerations and the R&D being conducted at AFRL (USAF Research Laboratories) and the other service labs where PNT is concerned. (Read my In defense of PNT: Multi-GNSS to the rescue, May 11, 2016, Defense PNT column)
Of course, let’s not forget DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). As experienced PMs know, you neglect DARPA at your program’s peril. DARPA waxes and wanes on the publicity scale, but they are always on the cutting edge where R&D is concerned. Many of our nation’s most noted scientific accomplishments began life as DARPA hard projects, way too many to mention. DARPA, like all R&D laboratories, have their hands out and are just hoping for and are ready to commit any fallout monies that become available in scary September.
If you are wondering why no one in Washington, D.C., is returning your calls and emails, or why they seem distracted or preoccupied when you are able to connect, just blame it on the most chaotic month of the USG budget year, September. It’s feast or famine, or you could say, early trick or treat.
ION GNSS+
Prevailing health issues prevent me from traveling to ION GNSS+ 2016, which takes place Sept. 12-16, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. ION bills this event as “the world’s largest technical meeting and showcase of GNSS technology, products and services. This year’s conference brings together international leaders in GNSS and related positioning, navigation and timing fields to present new research, introduce new technologies, discuss current policy, demonstrate products and exchange ideas.”
This is a great event, which I normally look forward to every year. Not to worry, GPS World is well represented by editors, writers and contributors. Be sure and stop by the GPS World booth — chat, pick-up a magazine while you’re there, and subscribe to the free print and/or digital editions.
Until next time, happy navigating and remember: GPS is brought to you free of charge by the United States Air Force.
A new market report focuses military GPS and GNSS devices. The “Global and Chinese Military GPS/GNSS Devices Industry, 2011-2021 Market Research Report” is an in-depth study on the current state of the industry, with a focus on the Chinese market.
The report provides key statistics on the market status of device manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry, according to publisher Wise Guy Reports.
The report provides a basic overview including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure and development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures.
The report states the global market size (volume and value), and the segment markets by regions, types, applications and companies are also discussed.
Market analysis is provided for major regions including the United States, Europe, China and Japan, and other regions can be added. For each region, market size and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.
The report also focuses on global leading industry players with company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.
Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.
In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.
Lockheed Martin and the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) successfully demonstrated their UAV optimization technologies using aerial command and control (C2) of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The demonstration marks a successful milestone in the joint WUT-Lockheed Martin advanced applied research program on optimization of diverse fleets of aircraft, and concepts associated with manned-unmanned command and control of airborne platform systems.
“These technologies have tremendous commercial and military potential as the world moves toward greater and greater use of unmanned aerial systems,” said Prof. Janusz Narkiewicz, head of WUT’s Department of Automation and Aeronautical Systems. “Understanding how different assets can interoperate, communicate and serve common objectives with maximum efficiency is a challenging task in the growing field of UAV technologies.”
Through the use of advanced mathematic calculations and a systems-of-systems approach, the technology bolsters mission efficiency by adapting the fleet’s commanded flight paths, speeds, division of duties and sensor performance. Modeling all the constraints of the task at hand, the students calculate the “best answer,” usually beating either the human best guess or simpler approaches by 10 to 20 percent.
The goal of the team’s latest project was to advance previous optimization work by incorporating airborne C2, improving user interfaces, and testing new methods for related subroutines. With a vision of ultimately developing fast dynamically adaptive approaches to live management of a UAV fleet, this work is an important contribution to the concept of manned-unmanned teaming, where manned assets operate seamlessly with surrogate UAVs, often controlling many at a time against specific tasks.
The technology demonstrates that, with the right tools, an operator may adapt to changing scenarios, calculate new solutions, and deploy those new, optimized solutions to the fleet of commanded aircraft, whether for civil or military purposes, a Lockheed Martin news release said.
The recent demonstration can be equated to a search-and-rescue task, where every minute shaved off of a search pattern could be the difference between life and death.
In another example, if UAVs were to be used to deliver small packages to consumers, the 10 to 20 percent performance improvement could be the competitive edge that keeps an operation in business ahead of the competition.
The program builds on the strong industrial and academic partnership between Poland and Lockheed Martin aimed at motivating young Polish engineers to address tomorrow’s defense and industrial needs. WUT and Lockheed Martin are seeking new Polish partners to further advance Polish research and development capabilities on manned-unmanned airborne platform system integration.
THISR modular kits provide the tools needed to capture the first-person view on the battlefield. (Photo: Bruce Donaldson, THISR team leader, Red Hen Systems)
The Tactical Handheld Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (THISR) by Red Hen Systems is an advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) asset providing a real-time solution to operators and mission teams.
The modular kits provide the tools needed to capture the first-person view on the battlefield. The THISR is a custom integration of cameras, a laser rangefinder, GPS unit and software linked through Red Hen System’s VMS-333 mapping system.
THISR is the integration of three core collection technologies:
Random Access Full Motion Video (RAFMV) with mapping integration
360° immersive rendering
light UAV/UAS
Together, all three technologies provide critical information to the operator for use in planning superior missions, enhancing situational awareness and protecting forces, the company said.
The kits offer near-real-time dissemination and surveillance, and can be integrated with other technologies.
The THISR options.
Mapping system. The VMS-333 encodes multiple geo-referenced sensor metadata records into a single data stream and combines this metadata with photographic and video imagery. Data multiplexing capabilities are available for two different mission types–nadir and oblique ground observation missions.
The nadir mission provides an automated process to create a seamless orthogonal geo-referenced photographic mosaic of the entire flight path that can be used to produce 3D terrain models of the ground below.
The oblique mission provides the functionality to take at-will photographs of ground-based areas of interest from a handheld SLR camera, and geo-reference these photographs with the location of the ground target using coupled laser range finder technology.
The U.S. Air Force is holding a 2016 Public Interface Control Working Group and Open Forum for the Navstar GPS public documents Sept. 21-22 in El Segundo, California.
The meeting is intended to update the public on GPS public document revisions and collect issues and comments for analysis and possible integration into future Navstar revisions.
The forum will be held for the following documents:
IS-GPS-200 (Navigation User Interfaces).
IS-GPS-705 (User Segment L5 Interfaces).
IS-GPS-800 (User Segment L1C Interface).
ICD-GPS-240 (Navstar GPS Control Segment to User Support Community Interfaces).
ICD-GPS-870 (Navstar GPS Control Segment to User Support Community Interfaces).
The 2016 Interface Control Working Group and Open Forum is open to the general public. The meeting will be held in the Great Room at 100 N. Sepulveda Blvd., El Segundo, California, 90245.
Those planning to attend should register by Sept. 7. To register, send the registration information to [email protected], providing your name, organization, telephone number, email address and country of citizenship.
It’s getting bigger all the time, GPS/GNSS business. And coming along in its wake, starting to grow like a sproutly little brother, is GPS anti-jamming, to safeguard the signal in various scenarios.
The anti-jamming market for GPS is expected to reach US$4.8 billion in value and 309.2 thousand units in volume by 2022, according to a newly released report by Research and Markets, a Dublin, Ireland-based market research “store.”
Anti-jam technology sales revenue will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.0 percent between 2016 and 2022, while volume goes up 10.1 percent. Major drivers at the moment lie in the military sector, but that could well change in the next decade. The proliferation of low-cost GPS jammers is seeing to that.
Meanwhile, any armed force that puts its faith in guided missiles now feels the acute need for a secured weapons system, something not easy to accomplish. Flight-control applications are especially vulnerable.
North America is the largest and most dynamic sector of the anti-jamming market, given its powerful military and the presence of three top players in the anti-jamming market for GPS: Rockwell Collins Inc. (U.S.), The Raytheon Company (U.S.) and NovAtel Inc. (Canada).
Other companies cited by the report, and given each their own subsection, are Cobham, Mayflower Communications, BAE Systems, Furuno Electric Company, Harris Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Thales Group, Boeing and u-blox.
Breaking down by receiver type, the report studies two major categories: military and government grade, and commercial transportation grade. The market is also analyzed geographically, with sub-sub-subsections devoted to “Threat From North Korea and Disputes With China,” “Dispute in the South China Sea,” and “The Crisis in Syria and Isis.”
Aside from looking — or deriving, more often — numbers according to Anti-Jamming Technique (nulling systems, beam-steering systems and civilian systems), the report does not concern itself overly with technical details. These usually are of little interest to investors, the report’s main target. Thus it will have little of interest for engineers, except for those practicing business development.
A market breakdown by application lists:
flight control
surveillance and reconnaissance
position, navigation and timing
targeting
casualty evacuation
timing installations
logistics tracking
law enforcement
From the Executive Summary:
“The nulling systems type of anti-jamming techniques accounted for a share of 70.0% in 2015; the market was valued at USD 2,180.3 million in the same year and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% between 2016 and 2022. The market for beam steering systems was valued at USD 662.8 million in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% during the forecast period. A major reason for beam steering systems holding such a low market share is that they are comparatively new in the market since the last decades and hence are not widely used. They are very expensive and are used only on high-end military vehicles such as strike aircrafts. For a long time nulling systems was the only known type of GPS anti-jamming technique. However, with the development of beam steering systems and the civilian anti jamming systems, the market for GPS anti-jamming is expected to increase.”
In July, GPS World asked the experts, “What percent of a GNSS designer or manufacturer’s R&D budget should be devoted to mitigation of jamming?”
“Solving for jamming, intentional or unintentional, in the design of any GNSS technology platform is no longer an option. How much any one company spends is largely a function of how much is spent on engineering overall and of how much has already been invested upfront on jamming mitigation. The required level of jamming resistance of any PNT solution also depends very much on the particular application, which in turn influences the budget allocated.”
“GNSS jamming is a growing concern, and an assessment of risks and an element of testing against the most applicable real world threats should be included as part of every developer’s engineering process. Spirent has decades of experience in providing test equipment and services to engineers working to understand and mitigate jamming threats. We have seen increased investment by designers and integrators of PNT systems that are driven to provide robust/resilient solutions to their customers.”
“While some receivers already incorporate jamming protection (e.g., CW excision), more sophisticated methods (for example, against broad-band jamming and spoofing) should be incorporated into perspective products. The percentage of R&D budget depends on a line of business. For manufactures pursuing applications such as military and critical infrastructure, the number can be as high as 50 percent. For many civilian applications a potential impact of jamming is less damaging. Yet, from 10 percent to 20 percent should be still allocated.”
Dual Mode Plus uses inertial guidance with GPS updates to shape flight path for target engagement at desired impact heading and dive angle. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin’s new Dual Mode Plus laser guided bomb (LGB) successfully completed two recent flight tests at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California.
The tests demonstrated operation of the new linear optics, GPS/inertial navigation system (INS) guidance subsystem and the control actuation system, meeting all mission objectives.
Released from an F/A-18 Super Hornet, the two Mk-82 (500-lb.) inert warheads, fitted with Dual Mode Plus guidance kits, impacted fixed targets well within operational performance requirements.
“Lockheed Martin’s Dual Mode Plus benefits from the reliability and affordability of the Paveway II Plus LGB system while integrating a GPS/INS, all-weather moving target capability,” said Joe Serra, Precision Guided Systems director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This combination offers a precise and affordable direct attack weapon system to the U.S. and its allies.”
Effective against fixed, relocatable and moving targets, Dual Mode Plus will improve mission effectiveness by providing precision strike capabilities in all-weather conditions at extended standoff ranges.
Dual Mode Plus maintains Paveway II LGB physical dimensions and easily integrates with aircraft employing Paveway II LGBs or other similar direct attack weapons utilizing conventional MIL-STD-1760/1553 or Universal Armament Interfaces.
Lockheed Martin is a qualified provider of all three Paveway II MK-80 series LGB variants (GBU-10 MK-84 [2,000 lb.], GBU-12 MK-82 and GBU-16 MK-83 [1,000 lb.]) and is the sole provider of the Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round and Dual Mode LGB kits.
The company has delivered more than 150,000 training rounds, more than 75,000 Paveway II LGB kits and 7,000 dual-mode systems to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and 23 international customers.
It was not a big wager as wagers go, at least not in monetary value, but the underlying premise of the wager spoke volumes. It all began innocently enough in 2005 when the first test, or proof of concept, Galileo satellite known as GIOVE-A was launched.
In March of that year, a group of PNT experts made a simple wager that there will be:
10 or fewer operational Galileo satellites by 12/31/15
or
11 or more operational Galileo satellites by 12/31/15
Galileo’s GIOVE-A retired in June 2012.
About 20 PNT experts took the bet, evenly divided on both sides, which essentially said that given that the first test (GIOVE) Galileo satellites were launched in 2005 and 2008 respectively, surely there would be at least 10 operational satellites on orbit or about one per year by 2015.
The stakes were modest, but as I said, the import of the faith (or lack of faith) in the European Union and its ability and understanding of the difficulties involved in the Galileo endeavor spoke volumes. As the chief scientist at Air Force Space Command stated at the time, “This is rocket science; this is hard.”
Chutzpah and/or naïveté
But the Europeans refused to believe it was a very hard problem. Indeed, after the second GIOVE launch, GIOVE-B in 2008, the European ministers announced, with incredible chutzpah and/or naïveté, that the Galileo constellation would be fully operational (24 fully operational on-orbit satellites) by 2013.
Of course, nothing of the sort has happened. Following the in-orbit validation (IOV) satellites, the first operational satellite launch did not occur until October 2011, almost six years later.
As of May 2016, there were 12 operational Galileo satellites on orbit along with two in early orbit or checkout stages — a far cry from the predicted 24 operational satellites. This is not a criticism of the Galileo system; rather, a validation of those who took the pessimistic side of the wager and of the chief scientist who clearly stated the obvious: this is indeed, as a popular euphemism states, a DARPA hard problem.
So the Europeans have been going about this PNT business since the initial decision to proceed in 2003 — 13 years. The United States has been producing and launching GPS satellites continuously since the first test launch of a NAVSTAR satellite in 1977 (39 years), with a continuously fully operational system (FOC) since 1995 (21 years), and guess what? It is still a hard problem. No one denies that. Which brings us to GPS III.
GPS III Update
Since the United States — specifically the United States Air Force (USAF) — has been in the space-borne PNT business longer than any other nation, you would think we would have this down by now. But it is still a hard problem with, fortunately, a long string of successes and very few (only two) failures.
To date, the U.S. government has launched a total of 72 GPS satellites. There are 31 active operational GPS SVs (satellite vehicles) on orbit, with seven additional in residual or test status; 32 have been retired into a parking orbit where they will not interfere with the operational constellation. That equates to 1.85 GPS satellites launched per year on average, or one every 6.5 months — an enviable record, failures and all.
Plus, there are GPS IIA satellites still on orbit that have been there for more than 22 years. Not bad for a satellite built to last (contracted service life) for 7.5 years.
Amazingly, the payloads on every GPS satellite to date were built, in part, in partnership with or completely by one company, now known as Harris, nee Exelis, nee ITT. Of course, the complexity of the payloads being built by Harris for the GPS III satellites is a far cry from the payloads built in 1975 for launch in 1977. According to GPS III program manager and VP Mark Stewart and his cohorts at Lockheed Martin (LMCO), the aerospace company building the GPS III satellites, GPS III
“…will deliver three times better accuracy, provide up to eight times improved anti-jamming capabilities and extend spacecraft life to 15 years [ed. contracted life], 25 percent longer than the [ed. latest family of satellites on orbit today]. GPS III’s new L1C civil signal … will make it the first GPS satellite to be interoperable with other international global navigation satellite systems.”
While many of you may look upon that LMCO statement as marketing hype, in fact it is a rather incredible prophesy. To a PNT expert it translates to: almost all GPS users globally will have sub-meter level positional accuracy from a group of signals that will rarely if ever be completely jammed, from an SV with a projected lifetime of 30 years that has more signals and greater signal strength, flexibility and interoperability than ever before. By the numbers GPS is still, far and away, the world’s gold standard.
So exactly where are we in relation to a launch of the first evolutionary GPS III satellite? After all, the last IIF launch, number 12 in the series, built by Boeing, occurred in February, so by the law of averages we should have the first GPS III launch later this month. That is not going to happen, but then what is a few months among friends when iterated over 39 years?
Currently the first GPS III launch date, according to the USAF, is scheduled for May 2017. All indications are the government is on track to meet that date with, interestingly enough, the availability of a suitable launch vehicle being the LIMFAC (limiting factor), not the availability of an GPS III SV to launch.
SV 01 in testing at Lockheed Martin’s Denver facility. (Photo: LMCO)
According to my sources, GPS III SV-01 is fully integrated, has completed all environmental testing and is essentially ready to ship to Cape Canaveral,. It would be available for launch (AFL) sometime before the end of the calendar year if there were a launch vehicle, a ground control system and range availability.
GPS III SV-02 will undergo full integration (“core-mating”) completion sometime this fall and — following successful completion of its environmental tests — should certainly be AFL in 2017.
The complete navigation panel (from Harris) for GPS III SV-03 should arrive in the LMCO Denver facility early next year. Providing the vehicle stays on track through testing, it should be AFL in 2018.
The government has yet to complete the contract award process for GPS III vehicles SV-09 and SV-10 to LMCO, but I am assured the award is imminent.
My sources confirm that Harris is continuing to pump money, expertise and technology into the GPS III payload development process, a manufacturing tour de force, and the company should be back on schedule early next year.
As for OCX, the future GPS Ground Control Segment, that is another tale for another time. For all other GPS III segments, all in all it is a positive message for development and deployment. Which is an admirable feat — after all, it is rocket science!
By the way, the Galileo wager is open to interpretation. There were certainly more than 10 Galileo platforms on orbit on the last day of December 2015, but only nine of them were operational at the time. Both sides are claiming victory. What a surprise!
A product to save your hearing
The EB15LE with Hearing Defenders with accessories. (Photo: ERI)
Before I close, I want to mention a product I have tested as extensively as I can in a limited environment. I agreed to test this non-GPS product because of all the emails and letters I receive concerning tinnitus and how it negatively affects our warfighters. Several emails make clear the necessity and criticality of a good sight picture or display for GPS guidance, especially where exfiltration is concerned.
When warfighters or law enforcement officers are suffering the ill effects of extremely loud noises, it is often disorienting. Much like the effects of a flash-bang device, a victim can lose his bearings and needs to have a clear visual of how to exit the threat environment.
The best solution would be not to suffer the devastating effects of the loud noises in the first place. This is where a company named Etymotic Research Incorporated (ERI) comes into play. ERI has developed electronic hearing protection for law enforcement officers and military users.
The version I tested was designated the EB15 for law enforcement. It functioned well as electronic hearing protection and amplification where needed. The device is essentially an electronic hearing aid that amplifies natural or quiet sounds up to five times, and a hearing defender that electronically blocks loud, harmful sounds by up to 25 decibels.
While I was not able to test the hearing defenders in actual combat, the testing I did perform demonstrated that the EB15-LE is an impressive product with a plethora of earplugs for various noisy environments that may help save a user’s hearing. Our warfighters and law-enforcement officers deserve the best technology available, especially if it helps them retain their orientation in a dangerous environment and saves their hearing.
Until next time, happy navigating, and remember: GPS is brought to you free of charge courtesy of the USAF.
Rockwell Collins is bringing its NavFire Precision Positioning Service (PPS) GPS to Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s Vulcano family for naval and artillery applications.
NavStrike military GPS offers high performance GPS for tightly coupled GPS/INS integrations.
Derived from the field-proven 12-channel NavFire Precise Positioning Service GPS receiver, Rockwell Collins’ NavStrike military GPS offers high performance GPS for tightly coupled GPS/inertial navigation system (GPS/INS) integrations.
“We have customized the NavFire receivers for the particular caliber of the ammunition, and provided full support to the customer during and after the firing trials,” said Claude Alber, vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa for Rockwell Collins. “In the end, our product perfectly matched the demanding performance requirements of our customer.”
The NavFire GPS includes the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) to allow decryption of precision GPS observations through over-the-air rekeying. The positioning information is used by the guidance system of the projectile.
Nearly 30 years ago, Rockwell Collins assisted the U.S. Air Force in developing GPS technology and that legacy continued when the company created the world’s first all-digital miniature GPS receiver under contract with DARPA. Over the years, Rockwell Collins has produced more than 50 GPS products and delivered more than 1 million GPS receivers for commercial avionics and government applications. This recent GPS contract continues this legacy to create leading edge military navigation solutions.
The Air Force has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for launch services for the GPS III-3 mission, scheduled to launch in 2019. Proposals are due Sept. 19; the contract will be a standalone contract for a single GPS III launch.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX are expected to compete for the contract. In April, SpaceX was chosen to launch the GPS III-2 satellite in May 2018. ULA chose not to compete.
The RFP seeks an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service. The draft RFP was released on June 14 to obtain industry feedback to inform the Final RFP. After extensive industry engagements, the Final RFP was released on Aug. 3 with proposals due back to the Air Force no later than Sept. 19 in accordance with the solicitation instructions.
After evaluating proposals through a competitive, best-value source selection process, the Air Force will award a firm-fixed price contract that will provide the government with a total launch solution including launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operations for the GPS III-3 satellite.
Artist’s concept of the nextgen GPS III satellite (courtesy of the USAF).
The Air Force’s acquisition strategy for this solicitation achieves a balance between mission success/operational needs, and lowering launch costs, through reintroducing competition for national security space missions, the Air Force said in a press release.
“Launch system certification is a key element (high technical bar) within this solicitation to provide insight into the technical capabilities and rigorous processes that demonstrate a launch vehicle contractor’s ability to design, develop, manufacture, and launch national security space missions and contributes to the overall flight worthiness process,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Space and Missile Systems Center commander and Air Force program executive officer for Space. Prior to contract award, the contracting officer will verify that the Offeror has a certified launch system as part of a responsibility determination resulting in a high technical bar.
“Through this competitive solicitation for GPS III launch services, we hope to continue fostering competition in order to promote innovation and reduce cost to the taxpayer while maintaining our laser focus on mission success,” Greaves said.
GPS III is expected to provide improved anti-jamming capabilities as well as improved accuracy for precision, navigation, and timing. It will incorporate the common L1C signal which is compatible with the European Space Agency’s Galileo global navigation satellite system and compliment current services with the addition of new civil and military signals.
The first GPS III satellite undergoes system-level thermal vacuum testing. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
This is the second competitive launch service solicitation under the current Phase 1A procurement strategy. The Phase 1A procurement strategy reintroduces competition for national security space launch services. Under the previous Phase 1 strategy, ULA was the only certified launch provider. In 2013, ULA was awarded a sole-source contract for launch services as part of an Air Force “Block Buy” of 36 rocket cores that resulted in significant savings for the government through FY 2017.
In May 2015, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) was certified for EELV launches resulting in two launch service providers that are qualified to design, produce, qualify and deliver a launch capability and provide the mission assurance support required to deliver national security space satellites to orbit.
