General Dynamics Mission Systems, part of U.S. aerospace and defense company General Dynamics Corp, announced that it has installed a new and improved GPS system onto U.S. military vehicles in Germany that allows U.S. forces to operate in an environment when GPS signals are degraded or denied.
According to a recent company news release, the system began fielding in September on select Stryker armored fighting vehicles and could eventually extend to thousands of vehicles across Europe.
That equipment is the Mounted Assured PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) System (MAPS) Generation 1, (MAPS GEN I), a powerful suite of new hardware and software that will ensure Soldiers have assured position and timing to navigate in a GPS degraded and denied environment. As adversaries across the spectrum field new capabilities to disrupt and degrade GPS, Soldiers will need more fortifications and assurances in those systems. The MAPS Directed Requirement was approved in January of this year, which was the first step to ensuring Soldiers receive the most modern PNT equipment as it becomes available.
General Dynamics Mission Systems is the current provider to the U.S. Army’s MAPS Program of Record.
MAPS Gen 1 is a modular vehicle-mounted system that monitors GPS signals for validity and sends accurate data to military devices even when GPS signals are degraded or denied. Without trusted data, GPS-dependent systems fail to operate properly, hindering operational capability and soldier safety. MAPS Gen 1 is scalable and upgradable so warfighters will benefit from additional features and capabilities throughout fielding and product lifecycle. This system is now available for the U.S. Army to purchase via the Common Hardware Systems (CHS-5) contract for indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) acquisitions.
“The MAPS GEN 1 Assured PNT system that is being fielded today closes a capability gap for the U.S. Army in major areas of responsibility around the world,” said Robert Horton, Vice President and Director for PNT Products at General Dynamics Mission Systems. “GPS Source employees are excited to deliver such an important capability and to contribute to the safety of America’s soldiers.”
The US Army’s Project Manager for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PM PNT) lead this initiative as the Army’s acquisition developer tasked with developing, modernizing, and integrating optimal and affordable PNT capabilities to promote decisive action in Army Operations. As part of the Program Executive Office, PM PNT collaborates with other Army and Joint Service partners to develop interoperable, reliable products to promote real-time secure PNT services for a variety of combat and combat support field missions.
