US: The US Army has begun the final phase of manufacturing a microchip-sized prototype that will support efforts to provide highly accurate location and battlefield situational awareness for the dismounted soldier, even in the temporary absence of GPS capability.
The US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command”s communications-electronics RD&E center, CERDEC, hosted the phase II meetings for manufacturing of the prototype units of a Chip Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC).
“An atomic clock, which is recognised for its accuracy, is used by the military in larger systems; however, the typical atomic clock is large, heavy and requires lots of power. Large systems/platforms like bombers have the advantage of having more power and space to accommodate a full-scale atomic clock, but that”s not true for a soldier on the battlefield or for munitions being fired,” said John Del Colliano, chief for the Positioning, Navigation and Timing branch of CERDEC”s Command, Power and Integration Directorate.
The CSAC, which is approximately 15 cubic centimetre, could be integrated into a platform, weapon or a device worn by a soldier and will be completely transparent to the user, said Paul MOlson, Acting Associate Director, Systems Engineering, CERDEC CP&I.
“The CSAC is a critical tool for systems that require very accurate time synchronisation, such as communication, navigation, radar and weapon systems. When used in conjunction with other sensors, the CSAC can help these systems provide highly accurate location and battlefield SA to units and commanders,” Olson said.
“If GPS is disrupted or jammed, a CSAC could provide precise time to the GPS receiver to enable rapid recovery or to protect receivers from GPS spoofing, a condition where false GPS signals are broadcast to fool GPS receivers with erroneous information. The hope is that the soldier wouldn”t even know that his GPS is being jammed,” Olson said.
Initiated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the CSAC Manufacturing Technology Objective is jointly funded by the US Army, the Air Force Global Positioning System Directorate and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Source: Defpro
