An update on the U.S. Army’s MAPS and DAPS Programs of Record and ongoing efforts to field assured PNT solutions for both mounted and dismounted operations.
Reliable PNT is central to American military operations, whether mounted or dismounted, making GPS a popular target for adversaries. As the spoofing and jamming threat continues to grow, backup solutions that enable multi-domain operations—even when GPS is disrupted or denied—are clearly needed.
To that end, the U.S. Army is focused on PNT Modernization and fielding Assured PNT solutions. Program Executive Office, Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S), which is made up of seven project managers dedicated to advancing technology for warfighters, is the organization responsible for fielding the Army’s Assured PNT systems.
The goal, Project Manager (PM) Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT) Mike Trzeciak said, is to develop solutions for both mounted and dismounted operations that don’t rely solely on GNSS signals.
Such solutions deploy additional sensors to validate the integrity of any signal received and provide necessary positioning data even when GPS isn’t available, Trzeciak said. These sensors include inertial measurement units (IMUs), wheel speed odometers and chip-scale atomic clocks.
“When you pull multiple sensors together in a fusion engine,” Trzeciak said, “you have a powerful PNT device that can cut through significant spoofing and jamming and continue to navigate.”
Along with the sensor integration, ALTNAV, a specific system that provides U.S. Army hardened signals, is also being added to receivers for improved resiliency, Trzeciak said. This layered approach is critical and is the driving force behind two Programs of Record: Dismounted Assured PNT System (DAPS) and Mounted Assured PNT System (MAPS).
Trzeciak and the respective product managers provide an update on both programs, as well as a new initiative known as NorthStar.
Building Resiliency for Dismounted Systems
DAPS GEN II, which received Full-Rate Production (FRP) approval last August, offers dismounted soldiers assured PNT through integrity checks and access to multiple integrated sensors, Product Manager Dismounted Assured PNT, Lt. Col. Zach Denton said. The solution fuses inputs from M-Code,
inertial sensors and other PNT sources, including ALTNAV, allowing soldiers to freely shoot, move and communicate even when GPS is denied. DAPS will replace the legacy Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR).
DAPS operates with the Nett Warrior system, Denton said, which is the soldier’s main interface and where they access visual PNT data. The DAPS GEN II handheld can also be used in standalone configuration and screen-cast PNT data to a tactical watch.
“DAPS provides a resilient system of systems so you can fight through an EW [electronic warfare] environment,” Denton said. “We need to build these resilient systems that don’t have single points of failure.”
Because DAPS, now in its second generation, focuses on devices that are hand carried, size, weight and power (SWaP) is paramount, Denton said. The DAPS GEN II uses a fused solution containing RF and non-RF sources of PNT to enable an assured solution to fight through those GPS jamming events.
“We are excited about DAPS GEN II,” Denton said, “but are still looking at other opportunities. Our goal is to provide dismounted soldiers with the best capability possible at the best value.”
MAPS: Trusted PNT Through Layered Sources
MAPS provides reliable PNT to mounted Army platforms, including ground vehicles, watercraft and munition systems, even when GPS is denied. Like DAPS, PNT is assured through integrity checks and access to multiple layers. The device fuses many different sources to ensure soldiers have access to assured PNT in GPS denied environments, Product Manager Mounted Assured PNT, Lt. Col. Damian Dixon said.
MAPS GEN II is made up of two main components: a robust seven-element anti-jam antenna and a navigation
receiver. It recently received FRP approval, so Mounted PNT, along with vendor Collins Aerospace, can move toward fielding initial operating capability.
The first Army brigade is expected to field MAPS this summer. The Marine Corps is also slated to field MAPS GEN II in the near future.
“We are on the precipice of providing a system to the warfighter,” Dixon said. “And much like with DAPS, we are constantly looking at and evaluating cutting edge technology to assure we are staying ahead of any threats and enabling the warfighter to have trusted PNT on their mounted platform.”
One highlight of MAPS GEN II, Dixon said, is it distributes assured PNT data to multiple clients, such as radio command systems and the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P), the Army’s friendly force tracking system that provides a faster satellite network, secure data encryption and advanced logistics. This reduces the need for “redundant GPS receivers and antennas that are on our legacy system,” Dixon said.
Critical Solutions
Both mounted and dismounted warfighters need assured PNT for precise targeting and firing, Trzeciak said. They’re making decisions based on the coordinates their GPS gives them and need to know they can accurately target and fire munitions.
“To do that, you have to know what the error is,” Trzeciak said. “The GPS device is telling me I’m here, but what is my potential error based on the EW environment? So, it’s really critical to make sure their position has integrity and accuracy.”
The other critical element, Trzeciak said, is timing, which MAPS and DAPS both provide to radio networks, mission command as well as decision support hardware to help calculate a firing mission, for example. Timing information is communicated on Nett Warrior, which delivers situational awareness to dismounted leaders.
“When you take away time, that situational awareness goes away,” Trzeciak said. “From a MAPS perspective, there are several dozen vehicle systems, from the fire control system in an M1 Abrams tank to UAV flight control in the back of a Stryker, and the MAPS GEN II system provides the timing needed to make sure everything stays connected and accurate.”
What’s Next
While DAPS already has been fielded, Trzeciak expects the first brigade to be fielded with MAPS this summer. He also expects M-Code to fully replace legacy devices and said the M-Code Increment 2 capability will provide even more advanced signal processing into DAPS and MAPS.
“SAASM [Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module] was developed in the 90s, and it’s no longer as resilient as it once was,” Trzeciak said. “M-Code is the next generation of military-only use GPS and has significant anti-jam and anti-spoofing capabilities.”
M-Code is iterative and will allow for software enhancements and “major increment upgrades.” This approach will make it possible to continually evolve and advance M-Code’s capabilities as needed, which is critical in today’s evolving threat environment.
A solution with a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) is also in the works. Known as NorthStar, Trzeciak said industry white papers are actively being evaluated for what will be a modular capability, low cost mounted system.
“It will be a modular, open system that will be able to incorporate sensors and software and drive low integration complexity,” he said. “The environment, as the Army looks at it, has multiple tiers of threat. We expect NorthStar to be easily upgradeable to meet the different challenges in the threat environment.”
For any assured PNT solution, anti-jam performance and low cost remain paramount, Trzeciak said. Many of these technologies, still in their infancy, are not yet in high rate production, making them more expensive. PM PNT remains on the lookout for low cost solutions that are also low SWaP so they can be put in smaller cases and draw less power off the soldier and vehicle, but still provide the same performance as other options.
Developing and fielding such solutions is going to take strong partnerships with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the PNT community, Trzeciak said. Those partnerships have already begun to form, with everyone working to efficiently get more resilient PNT solutions into the hands of the warfighter.
“The ground domain has multiple different requirements associated with the dismounted and mounted environments while munitions have to handle the g-forces of being fired out of a gun and the associated vibrations,” Trzeciak said. “And the aviation domain has to meet the strict flight safety regulations. There’s no one solution that fits the bill across the Army’s portfolio or the DoD’s portfolio…We will continue to look at what the community has that can build increased resiliency into our assured PNT capabilities.”
