A soldier inspected a part of a system called MAPS that was installed to ensure accurate navigation and timing. General Murray: “We must have several options before we can make PNT enter the battlefield in the future, because there is a risk of interference.”
Washington-A senior U.S. Army official said on October 14 that as opponents use increasingly advanced electronic jammers, the U.S. Army needs to reduce its reliance on GPS-enabled devices. General John Murray, commander of the Army’s Future Command, told reporters at the American Army Association’s annual meeting: “We are looking for alternative methods to obtain PNT other than GPS.” Murray said: “Due to the risk of interference. , We need a variety of options to make PNT enter the future battlefield.”
The Army Future Command, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a newly established organization that aims to provide long-term support for the Army’s modernization and preparation for future wars. Murray warned that the Army will not leave GPS and will continue to support the U.S. Air Force’s efforts to develop a new generation of GPS satellites that will send stronger signals. But he said that the Army intends to invest in technology to reduce its reliance on GPS and will train troops in electronic warfare tactics. Murray said the top priority is the use of anti-portable jammer systems in the armed forces of Europe and the Korean Peninsula.
Murray announced that the Army has deployed new anti-GPS jammer equipment on the lightly armored Stryker vehicles of the German Second Cavalry Regiment this month. In the next few years, hundreds of other vehicles throughout the U.S. European Command operations area will be equipped with these devices. Like most Army combat platforms, Stryker infantry vehicles also use multiple GPS receivers. A device called MAPS (Fixed Precision Navigation and Timing System) is installed on Strykers. The MAPS kit replaces multiple GPS receivers with a single device with a GPS receiver. The device also has a chip-level atomic clock for timing, and the selective availability and anti-spoofing module (SAASM) for navigation has an anti-jamming antenna, Used to distribute PNT information. In the test, MAPS showed that it can continue to work even if the GPS signal is weakened or weakened.
The Army plans to install MAPS in heavy armored vehicles (such as Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M1 Abrams Tanks, and M109 Paladins). Similar devices were also developed for dismantled soldiers. The Army Future Command established a team called the “Ensure Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Inter-functional Team” to study this issue. The Futures Command stated that the team will “enable soldiers to obtain accurate and reliable PNT even if the GPS signal is destroyed or rejected.” Alternatives to GPS that will be explored in the next few years include the use of low earth orbit communication satellites to provide timing signals. The future headquarters will also recommend that soldiers receive advanced training in navigational warfare to make them better prepared for an environment that rejects GPS. This summer, the U.S. Army conducted a PNT Assessment Exercise (PNTAX) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to rehearse how the troops will fight if the PNT signal is disturbed.