Integration of GPS into the B-2 Stealth Bomber

AnthonyAbbott, TedHagstrom, MitchMiller, Doug Atkinson

Abstract:	The B-2 Navigation Subsystem (NSS) was originally designed to perfiorm autonomous mis-sions without GPS aiding. Its performance re-quirements were demanding because they were driven by strategic requirements that precluded reliance on navigation aids that could be ren-dered inoperable during a strategic conflict. To meet these requirements the NSS uses two con-ventional local level platforms with very high quality inertial instruments. One of the IMUSis stellar aided to bound the error buildup due to gyro drift. The NSS can also be aided by range and range rate measurements to known land-marks using the B-2’s Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). In order to perform tactical missions such as GPS aided targeting and to launch GPS aided munitions, it was necessary to aid the NSS with GPS. The two primary challenges to adding GPS to the B-2 Navigation Suite were the method of integration into a mature navigation system and the ability to build a low observable antenna with the necessary gain to yield normal GPS signal acquisition and tracking. This paper summarizes the study that was performed to in-tegrate GPS into the B-2 and the conclusions reached from that study. A comparison of simulation results pefiormed during the study and actual flight test performance will be dis-cussed. The integration effort concluded that a cascade coupled approach with a relatively low update rate of 30 seconds, using only position fixes from GPS, performs quite well with a high-quality inertial navigation system. The system has been successfully used for GPS Aided SAR Targeting as launching of the GPS Aided Munitions and Joint Direct Attack Muni-tions.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1997) September 16 - 19, 1997 Kansas City, MO
Pages:	1669 - 1679
Cite this article:	AnthonyAbbott,, TedHagstrom,, MitchMiller,, Atkinson, Doug, "Integration of GPS into the B-2 Stealth Bomber," Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1997), Kansas City, MO, September 1997, pp. 1669-1679.
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