US Army deploys jam-resistant GPS to Europe

The US Army has installed 62 Mounted Assured Precision Navigation & Timing System (MAPS) anti-jam GPS devices in Stryker Light Armored Vehicles in Germany, the US Army News Service reported on 7 October.

A US soldier checks part of a MAPS anti-jamming GPS device. (US Army/John Higgins)

More than 300 Strykers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment will be fitted this year with MAPS, which pairs a GPS receiver with an anti-jam antenna, the report states. The system is designed to continue operating when a GPS signal is weakened or compromised, explained Colonel Nickolas Kioutas, positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) programme manager.

MAPS replaces the Defense Advanced GPS receivers (DAGR) that are currently installed on US armoured vehicles. It “uses a chip-scale atomic clock for timing, Selective Availability and Anti Spoof Module (SAASM) for GPS, and [an] anti-jamming antenna to distribute PNT information”, Col Kioutas added.

“The electronic technology comes amid the army's vision for 2028, to best prepare soldiers for possible warfare with near-peer competitors,” the report states, quoting Willie Nelson, director of the US Army's Assured PNT Cross-Functional Team.

The report added that the system is expected to be further developed to include non-GPS-based sensors by fusing GPS with alternative navigation and timing technologies.

Furthermore, the deployment of MAPS to Europe is one of the first conducted by the US Army’s Futures Command and may be rolled out to other armoured vehicles in the US inventory, according to the report.