Navigation and guidance Air Force looks to Rockwell Collins to provide handheld GPS navigation

U.S. Air Force navigation and guidance experts are readying a potential five-year contract to Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to build and maintain military handheld GPS receivers.

Officials of the Air Force Materiel Command at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., are revealing plans to award a sole-source contract to Rockwell Collins for the Defense Advanced Global Positioning System (GPS) Receiver (DAGR). These purchases will be for U.S. and foreign military customers.

The DAGR is the approved handheld GPS receiver for all U.S. military services and is integrated or embedded in more than 150 military platforms, Air Force officials say.

DAGR is a small, lightweight GPS receiver for vehicular, handheld, sensor, and gun laying applications. It provides moving map and situational awareness capabilities, and it meets military environmental requirements.

The DAGR provides enhanced protection against jammers and was among the first handheld GPS receiver programs in the U.S. to include selective availability anti-spoofing module (SAASM) security technology, Rockwell Collins officials say.

The Air Force will solicit and negotiate with Rockwell Collins on a sole-source basis to build, repair, and de-militarize DAGR units. The Air Force will award the contract to Rockwell Collins sole-source because the government does not own rights to the unit's technical data to support a competitive procurement from any other source, officials say.

The proposed contract is for a one-year basic period plus four one-year ordering periods. The value of the upcoming contract has yet to be negotiated.

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit Rockwell Collins online at www.rockwellcollins.com.