GPS World

Tag: NATO

  • British Army Light Dragoons demo anti-jam technology

    British Army Light Dragoons demo anti-jam technology

    NATO forces are deployed in some of the world’s most aggressive electronic-warfare (EW) environments. Intentional interference comes both from “personal protection” devices and large, high-powered EW assets.

    To navigate despite EW, armed forces need reliable and resilient GNSS/GPS positioning with anti-jam technology. The Light Dragoons — a light cavalry regiment of the British Army — are in a perfect position to test anti-jam technology for assured positioning, navigation and timing (A-PNT).

    The Light Dragoons were deployed as the United Kingdom’s Light Cavalry contribution to “Battlegroup Poland,” part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence. On the front line, the Light Cavalry engage in reconnaissance, mark targets for indirect fires, and prepare routes for the rest of the force. In this role, being prepared for EW is essential.

    To test A-PNT technologies, the Light Cavalry took part in Project Thundercat, a light cavalry capability investigation run by the Armoured Trials and Development Unit (ATDU). A Hexagon | NovAtel GPS anti-jam technology (GAJT) antenna, the GAJT-410ML, was fitted to a Jackal high-mobility transporter and integrated with its onboard positioning system.

    GAJT successfully defeats jamming on GPS L1 and L2 and Galileo E1 frequencies. When interference is detected, GAJT recognizes the unwanted interference and reduces reception in that direction. The result is a more resilient GNSS solution, protected measurements and A-PNT.

    The Light Dragoons found that GAJT successfully protected their positioning system despite experiencing interference. The GAJT-410ML antenna was easy to install in a simple plug-in-and-go process.

    In upcoming experiments, the British Army will use NovAtel technology to gain electronic situational-awareness data to characterize the radio frequency environment.

    GAJT systems are offered by NovAtel with customized offerings for land, marine and air applications.

    The Light Dragoons test NovAtel GAJT anti-jamming antennas in Project Thundercat. (Photo: Photo: British Army}
    The Light Dragoons test NovAtel GAJT anti-jamming antennas in Project Thundercat. (Photo: Photo: British Army)
  • Spanish elite units first to receive GMV Seeker drones

    Spanish elite units first to receive GMV Seeker drones

    Photo: Spanish Armed Forces/GMV
    Photo: Spanish Armed Forces/GMV

    The Spanish Army and Navy have received the first Seeker Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) from GMV and Aurea Avionics. The unmanned aircraft is designed to boost the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of two elite forces, the Spanish Army’s 6th Almogávares Paratroopers Brigade and the Marine Infantry Protection Force.

    Seeker has a 90-minute endurance and 15-km range, and weighs 3.5 kg. The UAV’s design and manufacture in Spain proved crucial during the COVID-19 epidemic, with the manufacture, test flights and delivery of the aircraft all performed within the project deadlines.

    In the final phase of the project, intensive training courses took place on the Madrid site of Aurea Avionics and the Los Alijares Firing and Maneuvering Range (CMT) of Toledo. There, future Seeker users put the RPAS through its paces with mission simulations, engaged in vehicle-tracking exercises and learned about  its theoretical and practical uses.

    Seeker will provide BRIPAC (Paratrooper Brigade) and BRIMAR (Marine Infantry Brigade) with real-time thermal-infrared and visible-spectrum video, augmented by metadata that can be mined by the operators and remotely by the command-and-control centers.

    New digitized ground-station architecture makes Seeker compatible with NATO’s standard command centers. This means any allied force will be able to integrate the aircraft into its fleet and command centers, ensuring joint operability between all troops and systems.

    The RPAS is financed by the Subdirectorate General of Planning, Technology and Innovation of the Directorate General of Armaments and Material.

  • Norway proves Russian interference

    Norway proves Russian interference

    Norway has electronic proof that Russian forces disrupted GPS signals during recent NATO war games, according to a report in Reuters news service.

    The Scandinavian country and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member has demanded an explanation from its neighbor. “We recognize Russia’s right to exercise and train its capacities [but] it is not acceptable that this kind of activity affects security in Norwegian air space,” stated the Norwegian defense ministry.

    Finland and Norway published claims in November that Russia may have intentionally disrupted GPS signals before and during NATO military exercises. The radio-frequency interference also affected the navigation of civilian air traffic in the Arctic. Both countries protested to Russia, which dismissed the allegations.

    “We gave them the proof,” Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen stated publicly. Russia demurred, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov terming the Norwegian allegations “a fantasy,” and said it would conducts its own investigation. “To be a neighbor of Russia you need to be patient,” added Bakke-Jensen.

    Could Russia have targeted Norway intentionally? The minister replied: “They were exercising very close to the border and they knew this will affect areas on the other side.”
    November saw NATO’s largest exercise in decades, involving forces from 31 countries in an area stretching from the Baltic Sea to Iceland.

    Above: Krasukha jammer mounted on a heavy-duty truck, part of the radio electronic warfare unit (EW) of the Western Military District. (Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation)

  • Norway, Finland suspect Russia of jamming GPS

    Norway, Finland suspect Russia of jamming GPS

    Photo: NATO/Espen Hofoss, Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt
    Photo: NATO/Espen Hofoss, Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt

    NATO conducted its largest military exercise since the Cold War in the frigid waters and icy mountains of Norway Oct. 25-Nov. 7.

    During the final days of the Trident Juncture exercise, GPS signals guiding ships, aircraft, tanks, trucks and troops began to fail. Tracking screens flickered and positions were suddenly wrong from a few meters to hundreds of kilometers.

    Civilian airliners, cars, trucks, cargo ships and smartphones operating in and around Norway and Finland experienced similar disruptions. Norway-based airline Wideroe told The Barents Observer that its pilots were reporting the loss of GPS signals when flying to airports in northern Norway and Finland. Airfields affected ranged from Kirkenes, on Norway’s border with Russia, to Lyngen in Troms, much further west.

    Russia is the chief suspect of jamming the signals in reaction to the massive size and proximity of the military exercises. Russia also has recently conducted massive military exercises in the Baltics.

    “It is possible that Russia has been the disrupting party in this,” Finland’s Prime Minster Juha Sipila told local media. “Russia is known to possess such capabilities.”

    Trident Juncture involved all 29 NATO alliance members. Neutral Sweden and Finland also took part amid growing uncertainty over Russia’s ambitions in the tense region.

  • Globecomm Receives Contract Extension from NATO for GPS-Based Tracking

    Globecomm, a global provider of communications solutions and services, has received a contract extension from NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) valued at $9.6 million to extend communication services and onsite support for the company’s previously deployed GPS-Based Force Tracking System (FTS).

    The FTS provides NATO with high levels of tracking data and messaging traffic. It enables NATO to identify where its personnel are located at all times, identify other multinational forces, and have the ability to do so in routine and operational situations. This is critical in assisting with the identification of friendly forces and helps prevent “blue-on-blue” incidents, the company said.

    Globecomm previously announced approximately $74.7 million in contracts from NATO for this project to design and install a GPS FTS, bringing the combined contract value to approximately $84 million.

    “Globecomm is pleased to receive this contract extension to continue to deliver this important service,” said Paul Knudsen, vice president of Globecomm’s Eastern Atlantic Team. “We completed an upgrade of this system last year under a separate contract that was previously announced. Globecomm has been providing this service since 2007.”