GE Aviation has received a contract to provide communications and support monitoring sensors for the US Marine Corps (USMC) ground-based operation surveillance system (G-BOSS) programme.
Under the $9m firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, the company will provide initial reference units, associated transit cases, lab asset, test, teardown, evaluation, as well as standard and repair repairs and engineering support.
Technology for a range of land vehicle, airborne and seaborne applications will be provided by the inertial reference unit, which uses global positioning system (GPS) data to provide orientation and position to support surveillance, target acquisition and satellite antenna direction.
In order to provide high-accuracy continuous location, heading, pitch, and roll data for the user, the reference unit combines inertial data and GPS data from both static and moving vehicles.
Integrated with sensors, the G-BOSS will provide a ‘beyond the fence’ surveillance capability for troops, in addition to abilities to operate in a variety of terrain and missions, and deal with a number of threats.
The VideoScout management system of the G-BOSS will enable integration of signals from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the tactical remote sensor suite (TRSS) unattended ground sensors (UGSs).
Work will be conducted at the company’s facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, while the deliveries to the navy are scheduled to start from 2012.
The US Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Indiana, is serving as the contracting activity, while the contract runs through the third quarter of 2017.
GE Aviation Systems also provides various systems to ensure protection to soldiers, as well as satellite communications antenna pointing for commercial and military use.
