Canadian Army to Test NovAtel GPS Anti-Jam Antenna

NovAtel’s GAJT-AE GPS anti-jam antenna.

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has selected NovAtel’s GAJT-AE antenna electronics for testing on Canadian Army platforms. The GAJT-AE, developed in Calgary at NovAtel’s global headquarters, is a GPS anti-jam solution suitable for small and weight constrained applications. The testing is being conducted through PWGSC’s Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP).

PWGSC will procure a number of GAJT-AE’s on behalf of the Department of National Defence (DND). The Director Land Requirements (DLR), with the assistance of the Quality Engineering Test Establishment (QETE), will oversee all testing on DND’s behalf. Field testing is expected to take place in the latter half of 2015 at 4th Canadian Division Support Garrison Petawawa.

The testing will analyze the performance of GAJT-AE on Canadian Army equipment in operational conditions to confirm the suitability and robustness of the NovAtel technology for this role. The process is expected to be completed by the end of March 2016.

GAJT is a null-forming technology that negates jammers, ensuring the satellite signals necessary to compute position and time are always available. Three categories of GAJT are manufactured by NovAtel:

• GAJT-710ML: for use with military land vehicles, networks and timing infrastructure
• GAJT-710MS: for marine vessels, from small boats to capital ships
• GAJT-AE: for use with an external antenna in size and weight constrained applications

“NovAtel has had great success working closely with the Canadian Army on the previous round of BCIP,” said Jason Hamilton, NovAtel’s vice president of marketing. “It is essential to have military users test our products in operational scenarios. We look forward to the valuable feedback that the Canadian Army testing of GAJT-AE GPS anti-jam antenna electronics will provide. NovAtel will use this feedback to continue developing products in support of Canada and its Allied partners.”

The BCIP was created by the Government of Canada to strengthen Canadian innovation. The program offers procurement and testing of pre-commercialized products and services, at a late stage of development. The BCIP:

• Bridges the “pre-commercialization gap”
• Supports Canadian suppliers by connecting innovators and government users and by testing innovations
• Provides real-world evaluation of pre-commercial goods and services
• Improves the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations.