Navigation System Improvements Coming to the U.S. Army
To keep up with the ever-changing technology of today, military officials and crews in the private sector are in the process of bolstering its navigation system. More specifically, U.S. Army leaders announced that they are awarding Collins Aerospace another contract to construct and design additional units of its Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing System (MAPS) GEN II hardware. This is part of the contractual agreement that Army and Collins Aerospace entered into in September 2022 for MAPS GEN II indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) production.
Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon, is a global aerospace and defense company with several capabilities and focus areas, including military and defense, commercial and business aviation, helicopters and space, according to officials associated with the company. Collins Aerospace brings over half a century of experience providing the military with both manned and unmanned solutions to help increase the operational effectiveness within the positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) realm, according to company officials.
As for its new contract regarding the MAPS GEN II navigation system, Army leaders are paying Collins Aerospace $96,833,769 for the additional hardware units. The Army will receive 1,212 MAPS devices beginning in fiscal year 2025; Marine Corps System Command will receive 400 units and 29 units will be heading to AWS, according to the Army’s Program Executive Office-Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors.
Marine Corps System Command leaders acquired the system to continue equipping Marine Corps personnel. Army leaders have now purchased 3,419 units in total as part of the agreement made in 2022. These units are expected to help military services in several ways. First, officials with the Army and Collins Aerospace are taking heed of the increase in risks across the globe, so these additional software units are aimed at protecting platforms against adversarial threats.
“As near-peer threats continue to evolve and advance, we’re seeing increased demand for resiliency against electronic warfare,” Philippe Limondin, vice president and general manager for Resilient Navigation Solutions, Collins Aerospace, said in a press release. “In response, we’re partnering closely with the U.S. Army to reduce overall costs so MAPS GEN II can be fielded faster and [be] more readily available across the services to allow mission execution with precision and accuracy.”
Furthermore, the GPS system will use “sensor fusion algorithms and nonradio frequency sensors to distribute trusted PNT data,” according to project manager PNT office officials. This will allow the system to become jam-and-spoof-resilient, enabling certain troops to navigate, even where military GPS is normally disconnected. This further ensures that soldiers know where they are, which gives them additional security and protection. Additionally, the MAPS GEN II technology transfers reliable and credible PNT data to soldiers, a benefit vital to Army operations, project manager PNT office officials added. The navigation kit consists of several pieces of gear: a receiver, an anti-jam antenna and associated installation instruments, according to Army leaders.
As for the hardware’s makeup, the system consists of Collins Aerospace’s NavHub-100 navigation system and the Multi-Sensor Antenna System. The former “provides a high-assurance, accurate navigation solution across GPS threat environments with industry-leading NavFusion of multiple sensors,” according to officials at Collins Aerospace. Furthermore, personnel at the company said the NavHub-100 navigation system applies up-to-date signal tracking to establish GPS security and to protect it from adversarial threats. Meanwhile, the Multi-Sensor Antenna System bolsters security for the system. It provides more protection for the hardware, even in the places where it would be most vulnerable, according to Collins Aerospace officials. This facet of the system plays a huge role in preventing jamming.
For the time being, the Army will apply this GPS hardware to land vehicles, but ultimately, they are looking to use the system to help soldiers working in several domains.
“The system will integrate with platforms for Stryker Brigade Combat Teams and Armored Brigade Combat Teams,” project manager PNT office officials said. “It leverages open architectures and outputs through multiple distribution standards. Additionally, there are plans to integrate onto Army watercraft in the future.”
As aforementioned, this contract is part of an agreement between the Army and Collins Aerospace made in September 2022. The contract, which is for five years and valued at $583 million, is for IDIQ production for the MAPS GEN II program. The goal of the contract’s existence has remained consistent in several ways. As per the original press release saying that “MAPS GEN II counters peer and near-peer threats by providing a high-assurance, high-integrity, accurate navigation solution using Collins’ industry-leading NavFusion technology, which fuses data from multiple sensors, along with M-code GPS with advanced anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology.” Additionally, the original contract stated that “the MAPS GEN II system brings the highest level of protection against the most severe and evolving PNT threats to support multi-domain operations and mitigate the evolving electronic threats that warfighters are facing today and will face in the future.” These sentiments have also been expressed in the latest subcontract between the Army and Collins Aerospace.
As for the timeline for this latest development, the estimated completion date is July 26, 2026. In the meantime, officials with Collins Aerospace said they are ramping up production to meet the demand from consumers in addition to their work toward completing their end of the contract. Crews are also working to bring aftermarket installation equipment that company officials say will “streamline the fielding process and reduce retrofitting complexity on existing vehicles.”
