Tag: U.S. Navy

Seen & Heard: Sailing new and old, tracking Iran

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.

Photo: IBM

Sailing new school

An autonomous ship designed to recreate the Mayflower’s historic journey across the Atlantic 400 years ago returned to the UK after developing a mechanical problem. IBM’s Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) set sail on June 15 on its 3,500-mile journey from Plymouth in the UK to Massachusetts in the United States. The voyage is expected to take about three weeks, and includes collections of data on marine life and sampling for plastic waste. The 50-foot long, solar-powered trimaran is capable of speeds of up to 10 knots (18 km/h) and is being navigated by on-board artificial intelligence (AI) with information from six cameras and 50 sensors. Project leaders say the AI worked perfectly. The ship navigates with precision GNSS, inertial measurement units, radar, weather station, SATCOM and the automatic identification system.

Photo: Lt.j.g. Alexander Fairbanks/U.S. Navy

Sailing old school

U.S. Navy sailors aboard mine-countermeasures ship USS Patriot used celestial navigation to navigate an 1,100-mile voyage back to port on the western coast of Japan in July 2020. The voyage allowed the crew to improve their mariner skills as they used sextants to find their latitude and longitude and compasses to determine their heading. The exercise wasn’t entirely old school. The sailors entered the celestial measurements into a computer to pinpoint their position using the System to Estimate Latitude and Longitude Astronomically (STELLA). The combination of repeatedly inputting sextant measurements, the course and speed of the ship, and time into STELLA, provided an accurate fix of the ship’s position. For backup, Combat Information Center (CIC) watch standers followed the ship’s course with GPS. Training in celestial navigation returned to the Navy as a core competency in 2016, 17 years after the U.S. Naval Academy stopped requiring midshipmen to learn the technique.

Photo: Lt.j.g. Alexander Fairbanks/U.S. Navy

Linear clock shows sunrise, sunset

A creative technologist spent his COVID-19 downtime creating a device that uses a GNSS receiver to compute time relative to sunrise and sunset. “Since it derives time from the satellite signal, it never needs to be set, or ever adjusted for daylight saving time,” explains creator James Wilson on his webpage. The device uses satellite navigation and astronomy to show time as a progress bar measuring the percentage of the day elapsed since sunrise. A second indicator marks the time to sunset in blue.

Tracking Iran’s nuclear site

A team with Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) is keeping tabs on activity at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility using BlackSky’s geospatial imagery and burst collection technology. BlackSky’s satellites provide intraday revisit capabilities, allowing CISAC’s research team to receive multiple images a day, throughout the day, rather than just one image collected at roughly the same time each day. The satellites also can capture a sequence of 20 images within minutes (burst collection) and splice them together to generate a moving sequence of activity. With BlackSky’s assistance, the research team was able to witness trucks emerging from the facility’s underground tunnels.

August 16, 2021
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
Raytheon’s StormBreaker completes first guided release in U.S. Navy flight test

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, completed the first guided release of a StormBreaker smart weapon from an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which will become the second fighter jet to add the weapon when the program reaches initial operational capability later this year.

StormBreaker features a try-mode seeker that uses imaging infrared and millimeter wave radar in its normal mode. It can also deploy its semi-active laser or GPS guidance to hit targets.

During the U.S. Navy flight test, StormBreaker safely separated from the jet and successfully received guidance data from the plane, enabling it to be directed to its target while in flight, the company said.

“StormBreaker is the only weapon that enables pilots to hit moving targets during bad weather or if dust and smoke are in the area,” said Cristy Stagg, StormBreaker program director. “Super Hornet pilots will be able to use poor visibility to their advantage when StormBreaker integration is complete.”

Raytheon’s StormBreaker (Photo: Raytheon)

July 14, 2020
Raytheon awards Kongsberg contract for GPS-guided missiles

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has signed a contract with Raytheon Missile Systems to deliver Naval Strike Missiles under a contract worth $21.36 million. The missiles are for the United States Navy’s Over-The-Horizon Weapon System (OTH WS) program. Raytheon is the prime contractor.

The Naval Strike Missile is a GPS-guided long-range, precision strike weapon that can find and destroy enemy ships at distances up to 100 nautical miles. The stealthy missile flies at sea-skimming altitude, has terrain-following capability (it banks to turn) and uses an imaging infrared seeker for precise targeting in challenging conditions. The missile employs a semi-armor-piercing warhead optimized for anti-surface warfare.

According to Raytheon, the missile also is suited for land attack missions because it can climb and descend with the terrain. It was successfully tested in a land-based mobile launcher configuration in 2018 as part of a multination military exercise. In 2019, the U.S. Marine Corps integrated a land-based Naval Strike Missile into its force structure, sharing costs and interoperability with the Navy.

The missile was first fired in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Navy. Then, on Oct. 1, it was launched from the USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) during Pacific Griffin, an exercise conducted with the Singaporean navy near Guam Sep. 27 through Oct. 10, 2019.

The OTH-WS program is a long-range, surface-to-surface warfare system intended to offensively engage maritime targets both inside and beyond the radar horizon. The system consists of an operator interface console, Naval Strike Missile, and the Missile Launching System. The OTH-WS is intended to be a stand-alone system requiring minimal integration into the ship’s platform.

The Navy selected the Naval Strike Missile in 2018, with Raytheon as the contractor for its over-the-horizon defense of littoral combat ships and future frigates.

Also in 2019, the Navy conducted a structural test firing of the OTH-WS to assess the integrity and safety of the weapon system installation on the launch platform. The test showed there were no problems regarding integration of the missile launching system with the platform.

The Navy is planning to conduct Initial Operational Test and Evaluation and Live-Fire Test and Evaluation in fiscal years 2020-2022. and is developing a test and evaluation plan and live-fire test strategy.

The USS Gabrielle Giffords launches a Naval Strike Missile during exercise Pacific Griffin. (Photo: U.S. Navy//Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon Renfroe/Released.)

March 9, 2020
Booz Allen awarded $178M GPS modernization contract

Company modernize GPS for U.S. Navy and Air Force

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC Pacific), in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), has awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a $178 million contract to provide technical engineering services toward the modernization of advanced GPS systems.

Specifically, Booz Allen’s work will aid in the development and modernization of GPS systems through major programs such as Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE), GPS III and Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX).

The NIWC Pacific Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Division is the Navy’s principal research and development center for navigation sensors and systems.

SMC is the center of technical excellence for developing, acquiring, fielding, and sustaining resilient and affordable military space systems.

With this contract, Booz Allen will continue to serve as a key mission partner for NIWC Pacific and SMC on the important endeavor of modernizing PNT systems for U.S. and Allied warfighters.

To execute this highly complex scope of work, Booz Allen will provide a range of essential services, including system definition, requirements synchronization, capability improvement, cybersecurity engineering, platform integration and testing, and acquisition program management.

“Booz Allen’s robust track record of work in both systems engineering and cybersecurity continues to inspire trust from our clients,” said Vice President Brian Zimmermann. “Our deep bench of leaders and technical experts reassures our clients that no project is too big or too complex. It’s our privilege to help the Navy and Air Force modernize GPS systems that are so vital to the security of our nation.”

Read more about Booz Allen’s work with PNT systems here.

Staff Sgt. Reag Wood of 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division, illustrates how he uses an iphone to obtain a visual image of a mock with insurgent activity during a field training exercise at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (Photo: U.S. Army/Lt. Col. Deanna Bague)

February 6, 2020
NASA program aids with disaster relief efforts

Satellite imagery and mapping have proven to be critical technologies when it comes to disaster relief efforts.

The NASA Earth Science Disasters Program has harnessed these technologies to help communities and governments recover from natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes and more.

“[The goal of the program is to] try to prevent natural disasters or limit their impact and also help people recover from them more quickly,” Jeremy Kirkendall, senior GIS administrator for the NASA Disasters Program, told GPS World in an exclusive interview at the 2019 Esri User Conference in San Diego. “We provide the products free to anyone to use, and data is only available if there is a good satellite pass.”

When a natural disaster strikes, researchers at the NASA Disasters Program will take satellite imagery of the affected location and create a map to show what the area looks like from an aerial perspective. Authorities who request this information can then compare the disaster map with maps of what the area looked like before the disaster took place.

“We do take requests from agencies or governments for disasters if they need help if data is available,” Kirkendall said. “We’ll create the products that show where the earthquake damage happened, where the fire burned or where the flooding is, and then users take that — combined with their local information — to determine what needs to be checked.”

For example, the NASA Disasters Program was able to map out the magnitude 6.4 July 4 Southern California earthquake.

“The earthquake that happened on July 4 caused a lot of deformation to the ground, so we mapped out that surface deformation and shared that information with other emergency managers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Guard and U.S. Navy,” Kirkendall said. “You can look at things like roads, utilities, underground pipes for natural gas or geothermal wells, or fiberoptic cables. Then when you provide the product to these end users, they can overlay it with utility and infrastructure information to identify what’s the most at risk and what needs to be investigated.”

Sometimes, when a natural disaster occurs over a longer period of time, data is mapped throughout the duration of the occurrence, as well. This can help with search-and-rescue missions, infrastructure repairs and post-disaster analysis.

“We will create products during responses that can last a long time, like for Hurricane Florence or the flooding that recently happened in the Midwest,” Kirkendall said. “We’ll keep turning out flood products day after day when there’s good satellite passes that show that information.”

Kirkendall added that the National Guard has used the live data, along with 911 calls, to find individuals trapped in flooded houses. The data also serves as a tool for post-disaster analysis to understand where damage occurred, ways to fix it and how to prevent it from happening again.

“The program itself is gearing toward a resiliency effort, where we can provide these products when communities says, ‘We get flooded here all the time, over and over,’” Kirkendall said. “That’s where we need to be prepared to fix something. We need to do something to prevent that.”

July 24, 2019
Raytheon demos land-based version of GPS-based landing system

Photo: Raytheon

Earlier this year, Raytheon Company demonstrated a land-based expeditionary version of its Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) for the first time to U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps officials at Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona.

During the demonstration, F-35B pilots used the JPALS system on the jet to connect with the expeditionary system on the ground from 200 nautical miles away. From there, the system guided the pilot to a designated landing point on the runway.

“The need for precision landings in harsh environments isn’t limited to one military service and one airplane,” said Matt Gilligan, vice president at Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services business. “JPALS can help any fixed or rotary-wing aircraft land in rugged, low-visibility environments at austere bases worldwide.”

The proof-of-concept event showed how the GPS-based system, which is currently used to guide F-35Bs onto ships in all weather, could be reconfigured into a mobile version to support landings in a traditional airport setting.

Infographic: Raytheon

Expeditionary JPALS supports the U.S. Air Force’s desire to use more austere, bare-base locations for future flying operations.

Currently in five transit cases, it could be repackaged for a variety of small transit vehicles transportable by C-130. Once on the ground, the system can be fully operational in under 90 minutes.

April 8, 2019
U.S. Navy, Air Force order anti-ship missiles from Lockheed

Lockheed Martin has received a $172 million contract from the U.S. Navy and Air Force for Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) production. The LRASM is designed to reduce dependence on GPS.

The contract continues the production for the air-launched variant of LRASM, including a full production run of missiles and engineering support. This is the second of several expected annual production lots that will deliver next-generation anti-ship missiles to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links and GPS navigation in electronic warfare environments.

LRASM will play a significant role in ensuring military access to operate in open ocean/blue waters, owing to its enhanced ability to discriminate and conduct tactical engagements from extended ranges.

LRASM is a precision-guided, anti-ship standoff missile based on the successful Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range (JASSM-ER). It is designed to meet the needs of U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force Warfighters in contested environments.

The air-launched variant provides an early operational capability for the U.S. Navy’s offensive anti-surface warfare Increment I requirement. With the recent EOC declaration by the U.S. Air Force for the B-1B, the focus is now on the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019.

“LRASM brings a game-changing capability to both the U.S. Air Force and the Navy,” said David Helsel, LRASM director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This second production lot will provide anti-ship missiles for both the B-1B and F/A-18E/F, bringing sea control back to our warfighters.”

Artist’s rendering: Lockheed Martin

January 15, 2019
FAA restricts drones near DOD and USCG ships, subs

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued more drone flight restrictions — this time, near U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard vessels operating in the vicinity of Naval Base Kitsap, Washington, and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia.

Drone operations are required to maintain a distance of at least 3,000 feet laterally and 1,000 feet vertically from the ships and submarines.

The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Nebraska returns to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor following sea trials. (Photo: U.S. Navy/Lt.Cmdr. Michael Smith, Commander, Submarine Group Nine)

At the request of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG), the FAA is using its existing authority under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations § 99.7 — “Special Security Instructions” — to address concerns about potentially malicious drone operations over certain, high-priority maritime operations.

The special security instructions, provided in an FAA Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), are now in effect. Additional information on these special security instructions includes a visual depiction and geospatial definition of the relevant airspace.

The FAA also warns drone operators that the USN and USCG vessels are authorized by law to take protective action against drones perceived to be safety or security threats, which could result in seizure, damage or destruction of the drones.

Operators who don’t comply may face civil penalties and criminal charges.

Any operator with an overriding reason of public interest or necessity (such as conducting a search-and-rescue mission) to operate their drone in close proximity to the cited USN and USCG vessels must first coordinate with the USN or USCG point of contact.

In a separate Special Notice Advisory NOTAM, also effective today, the FAA strongly advises drone operators to remain clear of DOD and Department of Energy (DOE) facilities and mobile assets, as well as USCG vessels.

The notice applies nationwide and alerts operators who ignore this caution and conduct drone flights perceived to be a safety or security threat to these facilities and mobile assets could face a reaction by security forces that results in the interference, disruption, seizure, damage or destruction of their drone.

Information can be found here on these two NOTAMs, and all of the locations currently covered by § 99.7 restrictions. This website also provides an interactive map, downloadable geospatial data, and other important details. Additional information, including frequently asked questions, is available on the FAA’s UAS website.

October 30, 2018
Esri cosponsors HACKtheMACHINE for U.S. Navy

Esri cosponsored HACKtheMACHINE, the United States Navy’s Digital Experience presented by the Naval Sea Systems Command, which took place Sept. 21–23 in Seattle.

The Naval Sea Systems Command hosted the event to drive the development of innovative digital capabilities that will help the navy protect the sea, air, space and subsurface domains in the 21st century.

The Seattle event connected developers to the needs of our nation’s navy and provided developers with access to Esri APIs and software developer kits. This will allow developers to bring context to maritime security situations through access to location data and spatial analytics tools.

Computers, data and digital communications underpin the global economy and delivery of the world’s life-sustaining services like food, power and clean water.

“HACKtheMACHINE is looking to reach out to a new generation and engage them in meaningful conversations about maritime security,” said Zac Staples, Fathom5 CEO, who founded the event while serving as the director of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Cyber Warfare. “It is designed to create opportunities to innovate, solve problems, and change the world for the better.”

“Esri is honored to be chosen as one of the sponsors for this event,” said Curt Hammill, navy account executive at Esri. “Our location intelligence solutions are used by all American military branches, and sponsoring HACKtheMACHINE gives us the opportunity to continue our proven history of supporting our armed services in their most critical missions.”

HACKtheMACHINE is composed of three tracks, and Esri participated in two of them. Track 2: Data Science & the Seven Seas, used data from ships under way on the high seas to develop algorithms to assist the navy with preventing collisions of human-operated and autonomous vessels.

Esri is also a solution provider for Track 3: Hack for the Oceans, in which teams put themselves in the position of the first responders after Hurricane Katrina. Each team will deploy applications to a similar environment to the navy’s Consolidated Afloat Networking and Enterprise Services (CANES) Agile Core Services system, emulating what value a first responder DevOps team could add in such a scenario.

Creative developers also had a chance to win an annual ArcGIS Developer Subscription for innovative use of the ArcGIS platform. Other prizes were awarded from other cosponsors.

HACKtheMACHINE was organized by Fathom5 and Booz Allen Hamilton, on behalf of the United States Navy.

September 20, 2018
CTSi flight tests navigation prototype to replace GPS for Navy

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan on July 10, 2018. (Photo: U.S. Navy/ Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Abbate/Released)

Along with partner L3 Technologies, the Enhanced Link Navigation System (ELNS) offers new solution to defeat enemy countermeasures to detect and disrupt allied signals.

CTSi and partner L3 Technologies this month completed flight-testing of a newly developed integrated communication and navigation system for use in highly contested and GPS-denied environments.

Designated the Enhanced Link Navigation System (ELNS), the prototype was built under a U.S. Navy $8.7 million Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase III contract and flight tested at the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport near Patuxent River, Maryland.

“Our team put ELNS in the air in less than 18 months. It worked the first time and every time during 15 flights, which included 152 approaches,” said Ian Gallimore, CTSi chief technology officer. He went on to say that ELNS provided area navigation to replace GPS at ranges in excess of 50 nautical miles all the way through landing.

Pilots from Airtec, who provided turn-key flight test support, said during test events, “These needles are… money,” and “ELNS is as good as any instrument landing system I’ve flown, I’d fly it in the weather.”

“ELNS is scalable for unmanned aircraft in all groups, from those needing high integrity like MQ-25, to small unmanned aircraft on tight weight budgets,” said Martin King, Navy project manager. “ELNS is the first system to bring GPS-denied navigation capability to small UAS. By combining significant investments in related fields to create a whole new capability like this, ELNS takes position, navigation and timing (PNT) for air vehicles in a compelling new direction.”

ELNS utilizes L3 Technologies’ waveforms that defeat adversary strategies to detect and disrupt allied signals, using waveforms that are essential in communications-denied and GPS-denied environments.

“There is a strong fit between what ELNS brings and the threats that our forces are facing today,” said Tom Sanders, CTSi chief executive officer.

To learn more about ELNS, contact [email protected].

July 10, 2018
F-35 fighter gets Raytheon missile with GPS-inertial positioning

Screenshot from U.S. Navy video of a March 2016 test of an F-35 releasing the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW).

Raytheon Company and the U.S. Navy completed the final developmental test to integrate the Joint Standoff Weapon C onto the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s C variant, keeping the low-cost, air-to-ground missile on track for full deployment in 2019.

The JSOW glide weapon uses a GPS-inertial navigation system with an imaging infrared seeker that can identify and track targets autonomously. JSOW C weighs 1,000 pounds and is effective against high-value land targets at ranges greater than 70 nautical miles, day or night, and in adverse weather conditions.

“With JSOW C in its internal weapons bay, the Navy’s F-35C can now eliminate the toughest ground targets from significant standoff ranges,” said Mike Jarrett, vice president of Raytheon Air Warfare Systems. “JSOW’s advanced warhead and smart fuse provide fighter pilots with plenty of flexibility against hard and soft targets — plus, it has many programmable effects.”

Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-35, and the F-35 Joint Program Office participated in the latest test, which took place on the Navy’s China Lake ranges in California.

https://youtu.be/IAzWKu_4njI

April 17, 2018