Rockwell Collins recently announced it had delivered 300,000 Defense Advanced Global Positioning System Receivers (DAGR) for use by U.S. and international warfighters. “Our employees take great pride in manufacturing and delivering a product that has been proven to save lives and increase the effectiveness of the warfighter,” said Bruce King, vice president and general manager of surface solutions for Rockwell Collins.

“A DAGR with a current crypto key provides the warfighter with the most robust, secure and precise navigation capabilities within the volatile and ever-changing theater of operations,” stated Colonel Dorothy Taneyhill, Army project manager for navigation systems. “Continued delivery of the DAGR to our deployed forces is vital for accurate, expedient situational awareness, and to achieve mission effectiveness on the battlefield.”

Rockwell Collins recently received a $450 million follow-on contract to provide DAGRs to the U.S. Air Force GPS Wing. The contract calls for Rockwell Collins to provide these handheld GPS position and navigation receivers through 2016.

The receiver provides precise timing to synchronize tactical radios, missile platforms and other situational awareness navigation systems for the digital battlespace and includes a graphical user interface that provides ease of use while enhancing the soldier’s effectiveness and safety. The DAGR design incorporates anti-jam improvements and denied GPS capabilities for worldwide enhanced battlefield protection and is the first U.S. handheld GPS receiver program to receive the next-generation security device, the selective availability antispoofing module.

Dave Gosch: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Personnel Locator System

Cubic Defense Applications, Inc., the defense systems business of Cubic Corp., recently reported more than $5 million in new orders from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy for the company’s AN/ARS-6 V12 personnel locator system (PLS), a compact and powerful receiver-transmitter used to locate downed pilots during combat search and rescue operations.

All branches of U.S. armed services use the PLS, as well as NATO combat search and rescue (CSAR) teams. Downed pilots use their survival radios to communicate with the PLSs systems, which are installed aboard CSAR aircraft. This allows CSAR crews to locate and extract personnel quickly and without detection by enemy forces. A longtime customer, the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command, recently awarded Cubic a new five-year, follow-on requirements contract with a potential ceiling value of $32 million. The first delivery order under the contract is for approximately $4.5 million.

Cubic introduced the AN/ARS-6 V12, a smaller, lighter and more powerful version of their V6 PLS, five years ago. The system features interoperability with new-generation survival radios like General Dynamics’ PRC-112G HOOK Radio and Boeing’s PRQ-7 CSEL radio, and has new data features that allow two-way text messaging and GPS location from those radios. Cubic’s PLS is also compatible with all standard emergency beacons.

Family of Weapon Sights

The U.S. Army’s Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) Advanced Weapon Sight Technology, Advanced Technology Objective for Demonstration (AWST ATO-D) program, is intends to design, develop and integrate the next generation of prototype Family of Weapon Sights (FWS) for demonstration and user evaluation during the FY10/12 time period. The FWS is intended to define role-specific system capabilities for the infantry soldier at the rifle and weapons squad level.

The FWS for the infantry rifle squad could include an ultra-light weight for the basic rifleman; a light to medium weight for the squad designated marksman and automatic rifle; a dual capable sight for the grenadier; and for the infantry weapons squad an ultra-light weight for the basic riflemen; medium weight for the M240B gunner; a dual capable sight for the grenadier.

The increased soldier capabilities include improved resolution and range performance with the first demonstration of weapon-mounted sights used in an offensive role by implementing rapid target acquisition (RTA). RTA will present a virtual reticle on the soldier helmet-mounted display (HMD) using wireless data transmission between the weapon sight and headborne vision system, such as enhanced night vision goggle (ENVG); RTA is intended to import boresighted weapon sight imagery into the HMD component. The goal of the AWST program is to enhance soldier capabilities regarding situational awareness, threat detection, range performance for target engagement, and reduced timelines between target detection and engagement.

The AWST ATO-D is developing, integrating and demonstrating technologies and capabilities for the dismounted and mounted soldier. The products will include:

• Baseline designs leading to an FWS based upon advancements in sensor technologies. In addition, develop Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 prototypes representing a subset of these weapon sight family designs based upon consensus from PM-SSL and user juries.

• Basic FWS with improved range performance and field of view (FOV) based on the latest generation of high pixel count focal plane arrays and high resolution color displays.

• Increased capability FWS for infantry squad members and platoon leadership positions or crew served weapon operators with advanced digital signal processing, and RTA for presentation on a soldier HMD.

• Wireless intra soldier data/image transmission between AWST weapon sight and soldier HMD.

This ATO has been designated as a reliability insertion ATO; this effort will concentrate on technology reliability throughout its developmental efforts. The payoff is enhanced survivability of soldiers with increased weapon sight capabilities and improved situational awareness.

There are several potential transition scenarios for the various product lines resulting from the AWST program. All of the program products have application to the Product Manager, Soldier Sensors and Lasers (PM-SSL) mission.

The NVESD is looking for individual soldier weapon mounted weapon sights that meet the needs of the infantry squad/platoon individual soldier positions/duties.

• Range for probability of detection of a standing man at 1,100 meters 0.9 Pd.

• Nominal field of view for individual/crew 25/12 degrees.

• Rapid target acquisition approach (wireless)

• Weight individual/crew—3.2/4.4 pounds

• Power—3 watts

• Built-in battery meter capable of assessing the remaining power of standard commercial off-the-shelf batteries, such as AA or 123 batteries and based on system power consumption display to the user the estimated remaining life expectancy of the system batteries.

• Wirelessly transmit a virtual reticle from the FWS to the soldiers HMD; this virtual reticle must maintain the weapon sight zero to allow engagement of threat targets without the need to check the weapon.

• Wirelessly transmit the FWS imagery to the soldiers HMD. ♦