Navy chooses Textron to provide test equipment to check-out IED jammers before missions
INDIAN HEAD, Md., 9 Sept. 2014. U.S. Navy bomb-disposal experts needed test & measurement gear to validate the performance of equipment designed to jam RF and microwave signals intended to detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs). They found their solution from the Textron Systems Corp. Electronic Systems segment in Hunt Valley, Md.
Officials of the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division in Indian Head, Md., announced a $27.3 million contract Monday to Textron Electronic Systems to produce versions 1 and 2 of the AN/GLM-11 universal test set for IED jamming systems.
The contract also calls for Textron to provide AN/GLM-11 engineering services and program and configuration management. Textron Electronic Systems formerly was known as AAI Corp -- a company Textron acquired in 2007.
The AN/GLM-11 universal test set is a portable, battery-powered, programmable, ruggedized RF test system designed to validate IED jamming equipment. The unit provides in-field testing for warfighters employing IED jammers prior to departure, Textron officials say.
The AN/GLM-11 system executes preprogrammed test sequences that replicate threats and measures expected jammer responses. These measurements use the build emitter, build measurement, and build sequence applications of the AN/GLM-11.
An operator display on the AN/GLM-11 automatically provides the operator with go/no-go test results. Under a password option, advanced users also can call up a spectral display of the jammer response.
The AN/GLM-11 can test many communication and communication jamming systems deployed worldwide, Textron officials say. It has a frequency range sufficient for current and future counter-radio-controlled IED electronic warfare (CREW) jammers, officials say.
The unit's stimulus modulation can provide continuous wave; AM and FM; amplitude-shift keying; phase-shift keying; frequency-shift keying; minimum-shift keying; and Gaussian minimum-shift keying waveforms, and can modulate the carrier signal with dual-tone, multi-frequency, tone, digital code, and arbitrary waveform.
The AN/GLM-11 uses timing protocol to determine operational status of the unit under test, and can measure and analyze background electromagnetic environments simultaneously. Users can program the unit in the field with laptop computers or external memory modules.
The unit runs on a rechargeable BB-5290 battery, and can operate continuously for eight hours between battery rechargings. It has a sunlight-readable and night-vision-compatible display, and operates in temperatures from -20 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Related: A COTS response to the IED threat
The AN/GLM-11, which can be transported aboard commercial aircraft, measures 7 by 14 by 9.5 inches, and weighs less than 12 pounds, Textron officials say.
For more information contact Textron Electronic Systems online at www.textronsystems.com/businesses/electronic-systems, or the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division-Indian Head at www.navsea.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
