2019 Fellow

Presented to: Dr. Jon Anderson

Citation: For leadership in developing the GPS M-code signal, in the Modernized GPS User Equipment (MGUE) program and the AFRL Navigation Technology Satellite 3 (NTS- 3) program.

For the past 22 years, Dr. Jon Anderson has been a leader and innovator in military GPS research, development, and acquisition. As an active duty United States Air Force officer, he was the chief systems engineer for the navigation warfare program in the GPS Joint Program Office, which formed the basis for the Department of Defense GPS Modernization Strategy and spawned numerous GPS enhancements across all three segments. In 1997, he was tasked to develop a new military signal for GPS. He formed and led a worldclass team of experts that evaluated a wide range of alternatives, conducted trade studies, performed engineering analysis, and established the key performance objectives. The team’s efforts resulted in the approval to implement M-Code as the military signal of the future.

While at the Pentagon in the mid-2000s, Dr. Anderson served as a technical advisor to senior Air Force leadership during a particularly dynamic time, with the emergence of international satellite navigation systems, new GPS threats, and the foundational GPS Modernization programs. He subsequently returned to the GPS Program Office to lead the GPS User Equipment Division, where he refocused MGUE on its Navigation Warfare mission, implemented an incremental strategy to leverage mature technology, and drove for change in classification and security requirements that were driving the cost and schedule. He also initiated investments in network-aided acquisition, software defined radios, and keyless architectures.

Since retiring from the Air Force in 2013, Dr. Anderson has been a researcher and technical advisor to the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate, initiating, conducting, and supporting development of digital waveform generators, new satellite navigation signals, advanced cryptography, and new PNT architectures.