Cutting-edge GPS technology
[Sponsored] BAE Systems’ M-Code GPS receiver solutions are reliable and ready.
BAE Systems photo.
An all-out sprint is underway between the United States and near-peer adversaries to develop and advance . The most innovative of these systems prevent the jamming or spoofing of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals used to provide positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) to U.S. armed forces in contested environments.
Admittedly, it is a race with hurdles, including a growing misconception about the reliability of GPS and whether the military’s highly encrypted signal known as M-code is “ready for prime time.” Work has been underway for more than two decades to modernize GPS with the more secure, jam-resistant, M-code. However, a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report suggests technical and manufacturing challenges have delayed the deployment of M-Code.
BAE Systems is actively developing and fielding a comprehensive family of M-Code GPS receiver solutions. The company has created security-certified Common GPS Modules (CGMs) that leverage the robust M-Code signal across an all-inclusive GPS receiver portfolio. The portfolio scales from the world’s smallest and lowest-power M-Code GPS for size, weight, and power (SWaP)-challenged applications, to highly robust receivers with integrated anti-jam antenna electronics for exceptionally challenging environments.
In addition, ongoing efforts for DIGAR™ production is ensuring the reliability of military GPS systems for aircraft and other platforms operating in challenging signal environments. DIGAR uses advanced antenna electronics, high-performance signal processing, and digital beamforming for better GPS signal reception and superior jamming immunity with both the powerful M-Code and legacy Y-Code GPS signal.
The diverse line of M-Code receivers includes the MPE™-M, MicroGRAM™-M, NavGuide™, NavStrike™-M, NavStorm™-M, and SABR™-M. The NavGuide™ handheld is anticipated to begin customer deliveries this year
To date, BAE Systems has delivered selective availability anti-spoofing module products to more than 45 countries and has begun delivering M-Code GPS receivers in multiple form factors and levels of capability to the U.S. armed forces and its allies through foreign military sales. Additional M-Code capable receiver form factors are also on the horizon.
Customers who have integrated these products into their platforms are at a competitive advantage, as the open-architecture capability can be tailored to solve their most pressing battlefield problems at an affordable price with a short timeline.
So, while recent scrutiny of the operational efficiencies of M-Code products provided by defense technology companies is important and necessary, it has underestimated the success and advancements that are rapidly underway.
BAE Systems is not only dedicated to maintaining a supply of cutting-edge GPS solutions today, but also proactively overcoming the challenges of a rapidly changing defense landscape for the foreseeable future.
