Northrop Grumman's Inertial Measurement Unit Selected for Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems Program

Northrop Grumman's Inertial Measurement Unit Selected for Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems Program
May 20, 2010

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected by Raytheon Company to supply the inertial measurement solution for the Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems (JPALS) Shipboard Reference program.

Under this contract, Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division will deliver 18 LN-270 inertial navigation systems (INS) for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the JPALS Increment 1A Shipboard Reference System (SRS). Future production orders are anticipated to be considerable. The first LN-270 unit will be delivered in early 2011.

JPALS, designed and developed by Raytheon under a U.S. Navy contract, is an all-weather, all-mission, all-user landing system based on local area differential Global Positioning System (GPS). JPALS works with GPS to provide accurate, reliable, landing guidance for fixed and rotary wing aircraft and supports fixed-base, tactical, and shipboard applications. For the SRS, each JPALS-equipped ship will employ three Northrop Grumman fiber optic gyro-based LN-270 INS units to measure the ship's motion.

"Northrop Grumman's LN-270 is a versatile solution for any application that requires highly accurate navigation, pointing or dependable stabilization—whether it be on land or sea," said Gorik Hossepian, vice president of navigation and positioning systems for Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division.

The in-production LN-270 INS is a highly reliable navigation system with low lifecycle costs because it requires no scheduled maintenance during its rated lifetime.

Northrop Grumman offers its customer more than 50 years of navigation experience. Besides fiber-optic gyro-based systems, the company produces navigation products utilizing a range of technologies including Northrop Grumman's exclusive hemispherical resonator gyro, unique ZLG(tm) gyros, spinning mass gyros, ring laser gyros, and micro-electro-mechanical-system gyros.

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