Integrating Evolving Military GPS Receiver Technology with New and Legacy Shipboard Systems

William R. Woodward, Richard Webb, Charles A. Schue III

Abstract:	Military GPS receiver technology is rapidly advancing. However, many shipboard interfaces have remained essentially unchanged for decades. Most shipboard navigation and weapon system interfaces are unique to the shipboard environment. They require a gateway to interface with the latest Selective Availability Anti- Spoofing Module (SAASM) GPS receivers. They will also require a gateway to interface with the next generation Military Code (M-Code) receivers. The U. S. Navy and its foreign military allies need a GPS gateway that will allow navigation and weapon systems to use current and future GPS technology developments. A scalable GPS gateway that could back-fit legacy Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems as well as fit new platforms would allow for the rapid integration of currently available SAASM GPS receivers and future M-Code receivers. This system would replace the AN/WRN-6(V) (“WRN-6”) that serves as the primary source for PNT information on more than 230 U.S. Navy, USCG, and Military Sealift Command (MSC) platforms, and would also replace the AN/WRN-7(V) (“WRN-7”) that is used by foreign military allies on approximately 250 ships. The gateway would interface with the Navigation Sensor System Interface (NAVSSI) suite, the primary source for PNT information on major combatants, including 122 U.S. Navy surface platforms and several allied Aegis platforms. The mismatch of interfaces between the latest GPS receivers and the ship’s navigation and weapon systems is what prevents the U.S. Navy from effectively employing the latest GPS receiver technology. The 480 U.S. and foreign military ships that receive GPS data directly from the WRN-6 or WRN-7 do it primarily through MIL-STD- 13971 Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) Type A or Type B interfaces, and secondarily through the ICD-GPS- 1502 instrumentation port data link. The WRN-6 and the WRN-7 by the nature of their design cannot be economically upgraded with the latest GPS receiver technology. While the design of NAVSSI offers greater flexibility, it will not accept new GPS receiver technology without the development of a VME circuit card to replace the GPS VME Receiver Card (GVRC) currently used. Military GPS receiver technology will continue to advance rapidly and with a GPS gateway, the U. S. Navy and its allies would be able to quickly integrate these receivers into legacy shipboard environments. UrsaNav has developed this GPS gateway in the form of a WRN-6 and WRN-7 replacement. They are currently expanding their current product, the UN-100™, to interface with multiple from-factor internal and external GPS receivers.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2009 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 26 - 28, 2009 Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel Anaheim, CA
Pages:	980 - 985
Cite this article:	Woodward, William R., Webb, Richard, Schue, Charles A., III, "Integrating Evolving Military GPS Receiver Technology with New and Legacy Shipboard Systems," Proceedings of the 2009 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Anaheim, CA, January 2009, pp. 980-985.
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