02 August 2021

BAE Systems eyes operational tests of MGUE capabilities

by Carlo Munoz

Programme engineers at BAE Systems are preparing for a series of operational evaluations on the company's Common GPS Modules (CGMs) under the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 1 initiative, designed to further integrate Military Code (M-Code)-enabled GPS capabilities into the US armed forces.

MGUE Increment 1 began as a technology development programme for BAE Systems, and the core technology that powered those early variants is now being integrated across the company's family of GPS products, said Jade Groen, a programme director with the company's navigation and sensor systems directorate.

“We have weapons programmes that are preparing for field readiness [evaluations] this year”, fielding elements of that Increment 1 technology, Groen said. Development of the Miniature Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver Engine – M-Code (MPETM-M) receiver and its Micro GPS Receiver Application Module – M-Code (MicroGRAM-M) programmes also leaned heavily on the MGUE Increment 1 capability. MPE-M and MicroGRAM-M are both heading into full rate production, she said.

“We have a number of platforms that are doing integration testing and operational testing with ground [based] embedded products ... and we are seeing many of those operational tests occurring over the next year-and-a-half,” she said.