Exelis, UrsaNav, Homeland Security, US Coast Guard Sign Agreement For Testing At LORAN-C Sites

Exelis announced Friday that it has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate and the US Coast Guard for testing and demonstration at former LORAN-C sites.

Under the CRADA, Exelis will use the former LORAN-C assets to put eLORAN signals in space for research, test and demonstration of the ability of eLORAN to meet precise positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) requirements of government and privately-owned critical infrastructure.

The team will evaluate eLORAN as a potential complementary system to the current Global Positioning System (GPS) currently in wide use throughout the US.

The capabilities and potential utilization methods of eLORAN will be explored in depth to identify all strengths, capacities, and potential vulnerabilities of the technology.

The first station that Exelis will be broadcasting provides a usable signal at a range up to 1000 miles.

The sites are the legacy ground-based radio navigation infrastructure of the decommissioned LORAN-C service that could be retained and upgraded to provide eLORAN low frequency service.

Ed Sayadian, vice president of Civil & Aerospace Systems for Exelis said, "eLORAN is a difficult to disrupt technology that offers PNT and wide area broadcast data capabilities indoors, in underground locations and other GPS-denied environments."

Exelis and UrsaNav have entered into this CRADA because they believe that low frequency signals, such as eLORAN, operate independently of GPS signals and can provide alternative timing, either standalone, or as a component of a PNT service.

Exelis also believes that as a result of its wealth of experience in its PNT portfolio, that there are many civil and defense applications that require precise time and/or position in GPS-denied environments.