GPS Attitude Determination Used for Fire Support in the Army

Reggie Cole

Abstract:	There has been active research on attitude determination, using the Global Positioning System (GPS), for more than ten years. Over that period, the basic theories have been refined, feasibility proven, and commercial Attitude Determination Systems (ADS) developed. The Army is developing GPS ADS requirements and conducting operational demonstrations. These demonstrations, conducted on actual operational weapon system platforms during field training exercises, provide a great deal of information on the operational deployment of GPS ADS. The demonstrations include tailoring the ADS for each application and weapon system platform. It is possible -- and usually necessary -- to optimize attitude accuracy for each weapon system. Each application presents unique challenges to GPS attitude determination. Some of these challenges are considerations in integrating ADS onto a weapon system platform. The results of the field demonstrations will almost certainly drive GPS attitude determination requirements for the Army as a whole. This paper, which focuses on the USARSPACE demonstration program, is intended to provide insights into the operational deployment issues with GPS attitude determination across the fuJl spectrum of Army applications. The fust part of this paper discusses the Army demonstrations on the Fire Support Team Vehicle (FISTV). Particular emphasis is placed on integration considerations and performance results. The second part of this paper is devoted to GPS attitude determination issues that may be anticipated across the spectrum of the Army applications.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 9th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1996) September 17 - 20, 1996 Kansas City, MO
Pages:	1021 - 1027
Cite this article:	Cole, Reggie, "GPS Attitude Determination Used for Fire Support in the Army," Proceedings of the 9th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1996), Kansas City, MO, September 1996, pp. 1021-1027.
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