Technology Makes GPS More Secure and Reliable for Military

Raytheon announced on 8 August that it has received security certification from the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Directorate at the US Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center for new GPS modules and receivers.

The new modules and receivers will give military aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and weapon systems secure and reliable access to modernised GPS.

“Because GPS is under constant attack, we worked with our government partners to create new M-code modules and receivers that give the military secure and resilient navigation systems,” explained Raytheon’s Vice President, Secure Sensor Solutions, Eric Ditmars. “And since the tech is platform agnostic, it will work on a wide range of platforms in the air, on the ground or at sea.”

Raytheon’s military code common GPS module was certified, along with its ground-based GPS receiver (GB-GRAM) and avionics GPS receiver (GRAM-S/M). Both systems are jointly developed with Trimble, Inc., while General Dynamics provides cryptographic capabilities for the modules.

“Operators need a system that is flexible and fast,” commented Director of Resilient Navigation at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, Chad Pillsbury. “We’ve designed these GPS systems with a common security architecture – meaning we can get this capability in the hands of operators faster and eliminate the need for additional security certifications.”