Satellite Communications Antenna Pointing for Positioning (SCAPP)

The Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT) is the fourth-generation maritime military satellite communications (SATCOM) terminal, providing seamless and assured connectivity to the Global Information Grid (GIG) via the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) systems. In this SBIR, Caliola Engineering, LLC (“Caliola”) will develop an innovative Satellite Communications Antenna Pointing for Positioning (SCAPP) solution that fuses a time series of precise angular pointing vectors recorded in the NMT Data Recording Element (DRE) with speed and heading estimates from the NMT Operator Interface Software (OIS) to produce a time series of estimates of the position of the vessel. Associated with each position estimate will be geolocation error ellipses for configurable confidence levels. The probabilistic vessel position estimates produced by SCAPP could be fused with the outputs of other sensors – e.g., inertial navigation systems (INS) – to provide precise Position, Navigation, & Timing (PNT) in the absence of GPS. In particular, SCAPP outputs will be compatible with the Non-GPS Aided PNT for Surface Ships (NoGAPSS) federated filter that will reside in GPS-based PNT Service (GPNTS) systems.