Army evaluates upgraded GPS devices for robust battlefield communications

By Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public AffairsJuly 14, 2020

Army evaluates upgraded GPS devices for robust battlefield communications
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Army C5ISR Center test engineer David Mobley conducts testing on positioning, navigation and timing equipment at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2020. (Photo Credit: Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army evaluates upgraded GPS devices for robust battlefield communications
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – C5ISR Center mechanical engineer Mike Panko conducts salt fog testing on the Enhanced Defense Advanced GPS Receiver Distributed Device Military (EDM3) system at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2020. The testing determines the effectiveness of protective coatings and finishes on materials. (Photo Credit: Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army evaluates upgraded GPS devices for robust battlefield communications
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Army C5ISR Center test engineer David Mobley conducts testing on positioning, navigation and timing equipment at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2020. (Photo Credit: Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army evaluates upgraded GPS devices for robust battlefield communications
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – C5ISR Center mechanical engineer Mike Panko conducts salt fog testing on the Enhanced Defense Advanced GPS Receiver Distributed Device Military (EDM3) system at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2020. The testing determines the effectiveness of protective coatings and finishes on materials. (Photo Credit: Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army evaluates upgraded GPS devices for robust battlefield communications
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Army C5ISR Center test engineer David Mobley conducts testing on positioning, navigation and timing equipment at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2020. (Photo Credit: Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (July 14, 2020) — Army Futures Command (AFC) engineers are evaluating next-generation positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) devices to ensure they are effective before production and fielding.

The Army is upgrading its PNT technology so Soldiers can maintain mission effectiveness when GPS is denied or contested during combat. The Enhanced Defense Advanced GPS Receiver Distributed Device Military (ED3M) is the Army’s latest vehicle-mounted system designed to improve PNT accuracy, reliability, speed, security and anti-jam capabilities.

ED3M also delivers data simultaneously to eight vehicle-mounted devices while mitigating GPS vulnerabilities against increasing electronic warfare threats, according to Steven Huie, an electronics engineer with the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center — a component of AFC’s Combat Capabilities Development Command. ED3M is an early adopter of the newly developed Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) circuit card, which offers the most secure, robust and resilient GPS signal to date.

The C5ISR Center is testing the ED3M to ensure it operates correctly under a wide range of conditions found on the battlefield. Following this testing, the C5ISR Center will integrate the ED3M into a Stryker combat vehicle as the Army selected the Stryker as the lead ground platform for an MGUE operational test. The C5ISR Center is working closely on many development efforts with the Army Project Manager PNT and Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, which are charged with overseeing the device’s production and fielding.

The first phase of ED3M testing replicates harsh environmental conditions to ensure the ED3M’s complex electronics components remain operational, said C5ISR Center mechanical engineer Michael Panko. Tests include water immersion, fungus, high and low temperature, vibration, mechanical shock, high altitude, signal-denied operation, salt fog, high humidity and blowing dust.

“We need to verify military devices don’t fail because of environmental stresses when they are needed most,” Panko said. “For service members in the field, if equipment in a military vehicle doesn’t turn on, or stops working part way through a mission, it could cost lives.”

Personnel are also conducting ED3M compatibility and integration tests, Huie said, to ensure the improved devices work correctly when paired with legacy versions or other Army systems that rely upon GPS signals. As the C5ISR Center completes testing, the results will help to further refine the ED3M for design and production.

Tom Brutofsky, chief of the C5ISR Center’s Prototype Integration Facility, commended the team for their commitment in safely completing their on-site work during the COVID-19 pandemic that has restricted access to Army installations.

“Our personnel’s dedication is critical to meeting deadlines so Soldiers continue to have the best capabilities for their missions,” Brutofsky said.

For more information, contact the C5ISR Center Public Affairs Office: usarmy.apg.ccdc-c5isr.mbx.pao@mail.mil.

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The C5ISR Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, the center develops and matures capabilities that support all six Army modernization priorities, enabling information dominance and tactical overmatch for the joint warfighter.

The C5ISR Center is an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. Through collaboration across the command’s core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our nation’s wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.

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Army Futures Command: https://www.army.mil/futures

Army Combat Capabilities Development Command: https://www.army.mil/ccdc

Army C5ISR Center: https://c5isr-ccdc.army.mil

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