Germany became the first foreign partner of the United States to receive GPS receivers protected from radio interference. This system has been developed by private companies for 10 years by order of the US military.
Germany received jam-resistant GPS
BAE Systems has delivered to Germany the first batch of GPS receivers that are not afraid of radio interference. The military of this country became the first US allies to receive these devices at their disposal. The number of sets of equipment arriving in Europe has not been disclosed.
GPS is a satellite navigation system that is used by both civilian and military. The first are familiar with it mainly due to geolocation. The second ones use the so-called M-code, which is encrypted and contains much more accurate coordinates. The same satellites broadcast both signals.
And it is the receivers of M that are the devices transmitted to Germany. They are called Miniature Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver Engine or MPE-M. It is known that the contract for their supply was concluded two years ago. The equipment can be used both in a portable version and installed on small vehicles.
Why secure GPS receivers are needed
The presence of satellite positioning systems is what prefers the armies of developed countries stuck in the middle of the 20th century. It is they who ensure the accuracy of missiles and shells. And it’s not for nothing that Russia tried to jam this system before the invasion of Ukraine.
This does not require too tricky equipment. It’s just that the transmitter creates powerful chaotic vibrations at the same frequency. The United States understood the threat from possible GPS jamming 10 years ago and in 2012 commissioned three companies Raytheon, L3Harris and BAE Systems to develop receivers that would not be afraid of obstacles.
The program was named Military Global Positioning System User Equipment. It cost USD 1.4 billion. Exactly how the engineers managed to overcome artificial obstacles is not reported, but the devices delivered to Germany prove that they did not work in vain.
According to spacenews.com
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