In today’s increasingly contested military environments, the availability of space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) signals, such as GPS, can no longer be taken for granted. Adversaries and other circumstances can disrupt these signals, impacting critical military operations. To address this challenge, joint and allied forces need alternative sources of accurate and reliable PNT information.
The Reliance on PNT
Joint and allied forces have traditionally relied on continuous access to GPS signals for real-time battlespace awareness, command and control synchronization, and precision operations, including target location, weapon delivery, and logistical support. Moreover, most modern electronics require synchronized timestamps to function correctly, and the loss of time synchronization can lead to a loss of computing power, impacting the ability to provide timely command and control to forces in the field.
The Vulnerability of GPS
The U.S. Army recognizes the dependency on GPS signals for PNT and has implemented measures to protect it. However, in today’s threat environments in Europe, the Indo-Pacific, and the Middle East, Military-code or M-code is increasingly exposed to advanced electronic warfare. Therefore, the Joint Force must seek alternative sources of accurate PNT information to ensure continuous availability.
MAPS Gen II: A Dependable APNT Solution
The Army’s Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing program of record, MAPS Gen II, provides soldiers, Marines, and allied forces with a reliable source of PNT. MAPS Gen II augments M-Code with alternate sources of navigation data and signals of opportunity, integrated by a multi-source sensor fusion engine.
Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has delivered MAPS Gen II systems to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marines and will continue deliveries under Full Rate Production.
Redundancy for Enhanced Resilience
According to Sandy Brown, vice president and general manager for Resilient Navigation Solutions at Collins Aerospace, MAPS Gen II incorporates multiple layers of redundant protection against jamming and spoofing, ensuring access to trusted PNT in the most contested environments.
MAPS Gen II replaces legacy GPS receivers with multiple layers of redundancy to defeat electronic warfare and other PNT threats. It ingests navigation data from various sensors, including low Earth orbit-constellations and non-RF-based sensors. The embedded NavFusion engine blends these signals to deliver an accurate, non-RF-based PNT solution with a high degree of accuracy, even when M-Code is unavailable.
Brown emphasizes the need for extra protection for combat vehicles, weapon systems, and coastal vessels, enabled by advanced software that combines data from multiple sensors and a flexible system design. This setup allows MAPS Gen II to adapt to new sensing technologies, increasing capabilities without adding more hardware to already crowded vehicles.
Enhancing Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) and CJADC2
Access to Advanced Positioning, Navigation, and Timing is crucial for MDO, allowing for better coordination between different services and partners in a joint warfighting environment across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains.
MAPS Gen II is essential in front-line ground combat and command vehicles, as well as in other vehicles performing key missions like C2, maneuver logistics, air and missile defense, and artillery. It ensures secure APNT and data sharing for CJADC2, enabling frontline units to act as forward scouts for naval forces in island-hopping operations, providing the Joint Force Land Component Commander (JFLCC) with a clear picture of the enemy and accurate targeting information.
“MAPS GEN II is a significant advancement and force multiplier for soldiers, providing modern technology in an adaptable system that allows navigation anywhere, anytime,” said Brown. “Frontline units must have access to secure communications to send data back to their commanders.”
