GPS World

Tag: Rockwell Collins

  • Rockwell Tracks Galileo Signal with Secure Software Receiver

    Rockwell Collins has successfully received and tracked a Galileo satellite signal using a prototype GNSS receiver designed for secure military use.

    In 2013, Rockwell Collins received a $2 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the GPS Directorate to develop and demonstrate a Secure Software Defined Radio (S-SDR) GNSS receiver capability. By using multiple available satellite signals, improved and more robust signal availability can be obtained, enabling a compatible GNSS receiver to deliver superior position determination that can improve navigation performance and signal availability.

    Hosted in a software-defined radio, the S-SDR program will develop the security architecture required for receiver equipment approvals and certifications. The arrival of modernized GPS signals and other global constellations is changing the way the U.S. military and its allies accomplish secure GNSS-based positioning, navigation and timing. The European Galileo constellation coming on line during 2015, including its open signals and secure Public Regulated Service, is expected to provide an opportunity for improved robustness in satellite based navigation, in both commercial and government applications.

    “This milestone reinforces our belief that Rockwell Collins is uniquely positioned to produce a navigation receiver that will meet global needs,” said John Borghese, vice president of the Advanced Technology Center for Rockwell Collins. “With decades of experience developing GPS systems and leading edge security architectures, our company continues to be a top innovator in this field.”

    More than 35 years ago, Rockwell Collins assisted the U.S. Air Force in developing GPS technology. 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. The GNSS receiver technology being provided for the S-SDR program will continue this legacy of providing leading edge GNSS solutions.

  • Rockwell Collins’ Avionics Enable Successful European Union Flight Demonstrations

    Rockwell Collins’ flight management system (FMS) and GNSS receiver successfully enabled the first demonstrations of advanced arrival and departure flight operations for the European Union’s airspace-enhancing project FilGAPP (“Filling the Gap” in GNSS Advanced Procedures and Operations).

    The goal of FilGAPP is to create new, more efficient methods of navigating airspace using satellite-based navigation and advanced FMS functions.

    “FilGAPP highlights the opportunity that exists for air carriers and corporate operators to increase operating capacity and to save time and fuel through more efficient terminal procedures at European airports,” said Claude Alber, vice president and managing director, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EuMEA) for Rockwell Collins.

    The most recent demonstration, performed in Germany in collaboration with key FilGAPP operational partners, took place on a Hawker 750 aircraft equipped with Rockwell Collins’ FMS and GNSS receiver. It was the first time that a high precision and high integrity missed approach/departure was performed in Europe.

    The flights also validated technical and operational independence from the closely spaced air traffic control systems of two nearby airports, which enabled increased operational capacity for each airport.

    Similar advanced departure/arrival demonstrations as part of project FilGAPP were performed earlier in the year with Air Nostrum (Iberia Regional) in Spain on Bombardier CRJ-1000 aircraft equipped with Rockwell Collins systems. The trials took advantage of the radius-to-fix functionality connected to European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS)-enabled localizer performance with vertical guidance (LPV) approaches.

    FilGAPP is a project of the European Commission’s 7th Framework Program managed by the European GNSS Agency (GSA) and coordinated by the Spanish transport consultancy, INECO, with industry and national air navigation service provider partners, including Rockwell Collins.

  • Unmanned Aircraft Navigation

    Unmanned Aircraft Navigation

    Sponsored by: Hemisphere GNSS
    Original Broadcast Date: Thursday, November 21, 2013
    Moderator:     Tony Murfin, Editor, Professional OEM newsletter
    Speakers: Olivier Casabianca,     Business Area Manager, Trimble GNSS OEM; Hal Adams, Co-founder/Chief Operating Officer, Accord Technology; Neil Gerein, Defense Product Manager, NovAtel; Eric Brewer, Senior Systems Engineer, Rockwell Collins; and Howard William Loewen, President, MicroPilot Inc.
    Summary:     In recent years, there has been explosive growth in the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) market segment, with most on-board navigation systems relying on GNSS or GNSS with inertial aiding. As military budgets decline, interest in civilian commercial applications is growing rapidly.  The FAA recently awarded special type certification to two UAVs for commercial Arctic operations, and the industry is now poised for the opening of the regulation floodgates to address a growing commercial demand. In this webcast, we will hear from some of the industry leaders in GNSS-based navigation for UAVs, in both the military and civilian sectors: they will tell us what they are doing in UAV navigation and where they see this exciting market going.

  • New Report on Global Military GPS/GNSS Market Looks at Next Decade

    Reportstack has announced a new report on The Global Military GPS/GNSS Market 2013-2023.  This report offers the reader detailed analysis of the global military GPS/GNSS  market over the next 10 years, alongside potential market opportunities to enter the industry, using detailed market size forecasts, Reportstack said.

    A satellite navigation system provides GPS positioning from a global perspective, and is therefore of utmost importance for modern-day military operations, which rely on accurate real-time data on hostile forces in order to carry out precision attacks, Reportstack said. It is here that GPS/GNSS devices assume an important role, as they are imperative to transfer signals from these satellites back to earth.

    The U.S. is the highest spender on military GPS/GNSS navigation, and is responsible for 42.9% of the global military GNSS devices market. Others major spenders in this sector include Russia, the UK, China and India. In July 2013, India launched the IRNSS-1A, the first of seven satellite constellation to be deployed under the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) program to be completed between 2015-2016. And China’s BeiDou is scheduled to be operational by 2020.

    Another factor driving the market is the integration of satellite navigation technology with other navigation systems, such as the inertial navigation system (INS) and gyro, as GPS devices are to be used in order to decipher data correctly, Reportstack said.

    The increasing demand for satellite navigation and communications is driven primarily by the desire of militaries to monitor more areas and derive accurate information by a range of GNSS receivers/sensors in the shortest time possible. Major military aircraft and helicopters are dependent on GPS embedded INS systems for effective navigation. Similarly, naval vessels and guided munitions are increasingly relying on the collaboration of laser, gyro, INS, and satellite navigation technologies to derive accurate real time data.

    Furthermore, it has been observed that the usage of standard positioning services/open service receivers, which use unencrypted signal for non-combat purposes has increased, and is expected to drive demand and encourage expenditure, Reportstack said. The military GPS/GNSS technology is expanding its horizon beyond the basic characteristics of navigation and tracking. The use of GPS, in conjunction with a number of software applications, has expanded its use in military operations. A number of new technologies are now embedded with GPS receivers to produce a more sophisticated military tool.

    Recently, a Swiss-based company developed a device called GPS Log Book based on u-blox technology. The new device has extended the scope of GPS technology to the administrative side of military operations. It provides an easy way for military drivers to automatically keep an accurate travel log book which can be securely accessed later from anywhere via a web interface. Information logged includes route, speed, and distance traveled. It also keeps a close record of fuel used by the vehicle, based on the distance traveled at various speed levels.

    The advent of Differential GPS (DGPS), an enhancement to GPS, which provides improved location accuracy, from the 15-meter nominal GPS accuracy to approximately 10 cm, has further expanded the scope of GPS in missile technology. The intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of hitting targets across thousands of miles navigation, use inertial navigation with DGPS receivers. The advent of DGPS is expected to be one of the most significant steps in accurate missile targeting for militaries across regions.

    The companies mentioned in this report are Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins , Lockheed Martin, ITT Exelis, Thales, and BAE Systems. More details and table of contents about this report can be found by visiting The Global Military GPS/GNSS Market 2013-2023 report.

  • Qinetiq, Rockwell Demonstrate Multi-Constellation Galileo/GPS Secure Positioning for Governmental Applications

    On August 30, QinetiQ and Rockwell Collins demonstrated the first joint satellite navigation positioning using live signals from the encrypted governmental services from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) GPS Precise Positioning Service (GPS-PPS) and the new European Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS). The signals on GPS L1 and L2, together with Galileo PRS L1A and E6A, were processed and combined to form multi-frequency, multi-constellation position fixes.

    Positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services provided by GNSS, such as GPS and the forthcoming Galileo system, are essential to underpinning both commercial and economic activity (the EC estimates 6-7% of the developed world’s GDP) and the delivery of governmental responsibilities including the safety and security of citizens.

    GNSS systems such as GPS and Galileo make use of very low power signals and are subject to inadvertent interference, deliberate jamming and spoofing (where an attacker generates a false signal masquerading as a valid one to mislead a user receiver). Attacks on GNSS may range from low-level criminal nuisance (a delivery driver stopping their employer tracking them), enabling theft of high-value vehicles fitted with trackers, through to state-sponsored attacks. This is potentially a significant concern for a wide range of governmental users including law enforcement, security and emergency services, critical national infrastructure, transport and defense users. The use of multiple independent, secured navigation services provides significant improvements to navigation robustness and, along with other measures, offers substantial counters to these threats.

    “This has been our first opportunity to explore how secured navigation services on GPS and Galileo can be used together to provide users with critical reliance on PNT with robust and continuous navigation services,” Nigel Davies, Head of QinetiQ’s Secured Navigation Group said. “QinetiQ is proud to be a key, long-term contributor to the Galileo Programme, having been working closely with the European Space Agency (ESA), the European GNSS Agency (GSA), European industrial partners and European Member States since 2003.  QinetiQ and Rockwell Collins wish to thank ESA, the EC and GSA for support in accessing Galileo, as well as the UK Space Agency, UK Satellite Applications Catapult and the UK MOD for their support.”

  • Rockwell Collins Awarded Contract to Develop Secure Software-Defined Radio GNSS Receiver Capability

    Rockwell Collins has received a 2 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop and demonstrate a secure software-defined radio (SDR) GNSS receiver capability.

    GNSS typically refers to equipment that can receive signals from multiple navigation satellite systems including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and the Chinese BeiDou system. By utilizing multiple available satellite signals, a GNSS receiver can provide improved navigation performance and signal availability.

    Hosted in a software-defined radio, this AFRL program will develop the security architecture required for the receiver equipment certifications. The arrival of modernized GPS signals and other constellations is changing the way the U.S. military accomplishes GNSS-based positioning, navigation and timing.

    “Rockwell Collins is actively researching GNSS capability as it applies to the U.S. and global customer base,” said John Borghese, vice president of the Rockwell Collins Advanced Technology Center. “We’re leveraging decades of GPS experience and leading edge security architectures to produce a navigation receiver that will meet global needs.”

  • Rockwell Collins Taps Spirent for GPS Wing Contract

    Spirent Federal Systems Inc. said today that Rockwell Collins has selected Spirent Federal to supply multiple GPS simulators to support the Modernized User Equipment (MUE) Receiver Card Development contract it has with the GPS Wing.

    The GPS modernization effort is a system-wide program that includes upgrades to the space, control and user segments.

    The award includes Spirent Federal’s GSS7700 Series GPS Simulator, fully approved classified package, interface/jamming and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) M-Code and Simulator Data Sets (SDS) M-Code capability. Spirent Federal has already received the Global Positioning Systems Wing security approval for its SDS Upgrade Package for the GSS7700 GPS Simulator last month; it is the first company to obtain security approval for a simulator that meets all the requirements for MUE, including the new SDS M-Code capabilities, the company says.

    Spirent manufactures an extensive range of GPS test equipment, from simple production test units for the commercial market to the GSS7700 series for more technically demanding applications. Configurations include GPS L1 only, dual-frequency L1/L2 (including L2C), L5, a fully approved classified package, Satellite Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS), interface/jamming simulation, inertial interfaces, Hardware in the Loop (HIL) test capability, high dynamic capability, and M-Code. Spirent Federal also offers Russian GLONASS simulation and European Galileo simulation.