BAE Systems to provide secure satellite navigation and positioning for Army infantry and combat vehicles
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – U.S. military information technology experts needed satellite navigation capability that not only is compatible with existing systems, but also that can receive new secure M-code signals. They found their solution from BAE Systems.
Officials of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., announced a potential $319 million contract this week to the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for Miniature PLGR Engine-M-code (MPE-M) receiver cards for the U.S. Army.
The contract includes MPE-M Dismounted Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) System (DAPS) and Mounted A-PNT System (MAPS) versions. to accommodate infantry soldiers on foot and in combat vehicles. The potential five-year contract also covers software updates.
The BAE Systems MPE-M receiver delivers geolocation and precise positioning capabilities for space-constrained applications while providing increased security, and anti-jamming capabilities, company officials say.
The MPE-M is size-compatible with the Miniature PLGR Engine-SAASM (MPE-S) receiver, while offering a new security architecture for enhanced integrity, exclusivity, and resiliency.
The MPE-M contains the required Selective Availability Anti-spoofing Module (SAASM) functionality while providing increased mission effectiveness and safety enabled through operation with the M-Code signal.
Related: GPS jamming is a growing threat to satellite navigation, positioning, and precision timing
It offers advanced correlator engine for accelerated Direct-Y and Direct-M code acquisitions; next-generation modernized security architecture; unclassified-when-keyed operation; black key capabilities that include over-the-air-rekeying (OTAR) when available from GPS satellites; and operations in a mixed Y-Code and M-Code constellation.
This contract, at minimum, calls for BAE Systems to deliver 50 MPE-M cards over the next two years for $494,270. With all options, the contract could go until September 2028.
On this contract BAE Systems will do the work in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and should be finished by September 2025. With options the contract will extend to September 2028. For more information contact BAE Systems Electronic Systems online at www.baesystems.com/en-us/our-company/inc-businesses/electronic-systems, or DISA at www.disa.mil.
