AFRL Field-Tests Miniature Navigator Demonstrator Published May 6, 2008 By Rex Swenson, AFRL/RBOO Munitions Directorate EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- AFRL munitions researchers completed initial field testing of next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS)/inertial navigation system antijam technology at the Static Antenna Test Range (Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico). This navigation satellite timing and ranging technology has proven to be a highly effective navigation aid for munitions applications operating in all weather conditions, both day and night. AFRL's Miniature Navigator Demonstrator (MIND) program is the latest to advance the state of the art in this technology area. MIND comprises a reduced-size, reduced-cost GPS/INS integrated weapons navigator that employs high antijam radio frequency front-end hardware, adaptive processing algorithms, and inertial measurement unit technologies. The field test provided an opportunity to collect baseline performance data on the MIND system's acquisition and tracking performance. Engineers used the mobile test vehicle (MTV), an AFRL asset developed to support testing of advanced guidance technologies, to conduct multiple tests in varying conditions. The MTV's avionics subsystems, system control features, and data acquisition hardware and software enable real-time monitoring of the system under test, as well as postprocessing analysis of results. During the ground tests, researchers exposed the MIND system to extreme GPS jamming conditions. The test results indicate the MIND system's capacity to meet or exceed program performance goals. With the maturity of--and growing reliance on--GPS-aided weapons comes the steadily increasing need to address GPS vulnerabilities. Accordingly, AFRL researchers are very active in the development of GPS munitions, particularly those involving GPS antijam technologies.