The first M-code enabled receiver cards were delivered to a U.S. ally in February 2021. Canada took possession of an unspecified number of Military Code-capable GPS receiver cards for the purposes of laboratory and field testing. The “loan,” in the terms of an official government release, constitutes the first fulfillment of a U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) three-year multinational Project Arrangement with partnering nations.
The arrangement, established in close coordination with the Department of Defense, Chief Information Officer and the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, became effective in December 2020 when Canada became the first co-signer of the document. France, Germany, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom are projected to receive Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 1 technology. All partnering nations will conduct laboratory and field tests to evaluate the performance and compatibility of MGUE Increment 1 products with their respective platforms and share their findings and lessons learned. Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden have expressed interest and intent in joining the agreement later this year.
M-Code upgrades GPS signals accessible to those authorized to provide more resilient positioning, navigation and timing solutions with enhanced security, anti-jam, and anti-spoof capabilities. SMC provides MGUE to U.S. allies to enable vital capabilities to the warfighter and users around the world.
[Image: BAE Systems/Collins Aerospace’s Miniature PLGR Engine – M-Code (MPE-M) receiver. Courtesy BAE Systems.]
