The U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S) has awarded Raytheon subsidiary Collins Aerospace a contract for the latest version of the Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing Systems (MAPS GEN II).
MAPS GEN II provides vital location information, even in environments where GPS signals are jammed and other systems are being attacked. The technology will be mounted into a variety of armored platforms. The system is comprised of Collins Aerospace’s NavHub™-100 navigation system – a navigational solution that generates and distributes Assured Position, Navigation and Timing (APNT) information – and Multi-Sensor Antenna System (MSAS-100). This second iteration is a step up from its predecessor, GEN I, which has been deployed in Europe.
“MAPS ensures access to modernized military GPS and fuses additional sources of PNT to include timing and alternate navigation technologies,” Lt. Col. Andrew Johnston, a product manager at PEO IEW&S. “Assured PNT is a critical enabling capability to multi-domain operations and Army 2030, setting conditions for soldiers to fight and win.”
Faced with the possibility of conflicts with China and/or Russia, the military is preparing for combat that would likely involve electronic interference and other digital attacks.
“Now we’re starting to enter theaters and operations where GPS signals can be denied, degraded, interfered with, right? Because of that, we needed to come up with a solution to get around the issue. MAPS helps answer that problem,” Maj. Matthew Szarzynski, an assistant project manager at PEO IEW&S. “We’re still getting that GPS signal, that positioning, navigation, timing solution. But now it’s more protected. It’s protected from any kind of jamming. It’s protected from any kind of spoofing. So soldiers in the field, with this on their platform, know exactly where they’re at.”