OREANDA-NEWS. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force for technology maturation and risk reduction in support of next-generation navigation systems.

Under the $49 million contract from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Northrop Grumman will provide the preliminary hardware and software architecture design for the Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS)-Modernization, or EGI-M, technology. The modernized system is expected to be available for platform integration starting in 2019.

Northrop Grumman’s EGI-M will be based upon modular, open systems architecture to support the rapid insertion of new capabilities and adaptability based on unique platform requirements. Additionally, EGI-M will incorporate M-Code-capable GPS receivers, which will help to ensure the secure transmission of accurate military signals.

“We are dedicated to ensuring mission success and the safety of warfighters by providing an EGI-M solution that offers robust, accurate and reliable positioning, navigation and timing [PNT] information, even in GPS-denied conditions,” said Dean Ebert, vice president, navigation and positioning systems business unit, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.