Spirent Federal Systems, a provider of PNT/GNSS test equipment, announced plans to fully validate the inertial interface between Spirent GNSS simulators and both Northrop Grumman legacy and modernized inertial systems under the EGI-M program. Spirent Federal has for several years developed inertial interface test tools in collaboration with Northrop Grumman that yield repeatable, accurate results.
Testing the full operational performance of GPS/inertial systems usually requires expensive and time-consuming field testing on a moving vehicle. Spirent’s SimINERTIAL system emulates inertial sensor outputs while concurrently simulating GPS RF signals, enabling controlled, repeatable testing of EGIs and reducing the need for field trials.
Northrop Grumman’s Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation System (INS)-Modernization, or EGI-M, program develops airborne navigation capabilities with a government-owned open architecture. The fully modernized system integrates new M-Code capable GPS receivers, provides interoperability with civil controlled air space, and implements a new resilient time capability.
Spirent Federal has been providing tools for testing inertial systems for more than two decades. Available SimINERTIAL interfaces comprise various EGIs and IMUs from the world manufacturers of inertial sensors, including Northrop Grumman (formerly Litton), Honeywell, Atlantic Inertial Systems, as well as standardized interfaces such as STANAG.
“Spirent Federal has long supported testing of the Northrop Grumman family of interfaces,” said Jeff Martin, Vice President of Sales for Spirent Federal, “and our customers have always obtained precise, reliable results.”
