Secure, miniature GPS designed by Rockwell Collins for radios, gun scopes, small UAVs

Posted by John McHaleFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. 25 Feb. 2011. Rockwell Collins unveiled the MicroGRAM GPS receiver, which is 90 percent smaller than the earlier version of its Miniature Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver Engine SAASM (MPE-S) -- the MicroDAGR -- at the AUSA Winter Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The size reduction means that equipment such as handheld radios, ruggedized field computers, laser range finders, gun scopes, and small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be equipped with secure GPS capability.The device, which is about the size of a quarter, enables the dismounted warfighter to attch a secure GPS to any piece of equipment he uses, says Phillip Jasper, vice president of business development for government systems at Rockwell Collins. The MicroDAGR was secure, but was more of PDA in terms of its size.The trend throughout the military is for smaller size, weight, and power characteristics to bring technology to the individual warfighter, he adds. The MicroGRAM is about the size of quarter, Jasper says.MicroGRAM's security features leverage the company's Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) capabilities. Engineered to minimize its footprint and power usage, the MicroGRAM (GPS Receiver Application Module) has also been optimized to allow rapid acquisition of the GPS satellites when the power is first supplied to it. "Today's warfighters must be prepared to find their way in unfamiliar environments, along with having precision accuracy in their weapons systems. Our new MicroGRAM opens up a whole new world of secure, military GPS technology for equipment that previously could not have it," says Bob Haag, vice president and general manager of Precision Strike and Navigation Products for Rockwell Collins. "Before now, this equipment could only use commercial GPS technology, which does not have the required military security features that warfighters need to avoid enemy threats."