Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract from the US Air Force for technology maturation and risk reduction in support of next-generation navigation systems.
Under the $49 million contract from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Northrop Grumman will provide the preliminary hardware and software architecture design for the Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS)-Modernisation, or EGI-M, technology.
The modernised system is expected to be available for platform integration starting in 2019.
The company say EGI-M will be based upon modular, open systems architecture to support the rapid insertion of new capabilities and ‘adaptability based on unique platform requirements’. Additionally, EGI-M will incorporate M-Code-capable GPS receivers, which will help to ensure the secure transmission of accurate military signals.
Dean Ebert, vice president, navigation and positioning systems business unit, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems said:
“We are dedicated to ensuring mission success and the safety of warfighters by providing an EGI-M solution that offers robust, accurate and reliable positioning, navigation and timing [PNT] information, even in GPS-denied conditions.”
The brochure states:
“EGI-M technology is designed for compatibility with current systems on legacy aircraft, allowing ease of integration and rapid adoption of new capabilities. EGI-M will also comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen air traffic control requirements that aircraft flying at higher altitudes be equipped with Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast out by January 2020. ADS-B Out transmits information about an aircraft’s altitude, speed and location to ground stations and to other equipped aircraft in the vicinity.”
