Bangalore – Inertial Labs, a VIAVI Solutions company has announced IRINS, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO)-aided inertial navigation system (INS) designed to allow full operation across land, air and sea in denied, degraded and disrupted space operating environments (D3SOE). Combining the capabilities of an INS, an altitude and heading reference system (AHRS) and a LEO PNT receiver, this platform marks a major milestone in VIAVI’s leading portfolio for assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (APNT) by bringing together the globally proven INS capabilities of Inertial Labs and the timing expertise of Jackson Labs.
The IRINS embedded system has been developed to counter the exponentially rising number of spoofing and jamming attacks that have affected military and critical infrastructure. Now, resilient LEO-based PNT and inertial navigation are available within a fully integrated system from a single vendor.
The system combines an INS, an AHRS and the GNSS-independent STL-2600 LEO Iridium receiver module. These capabilities enable the system to not only calculate altitude, position, velocity and time data, but also minimize bias from causing drift. To help detect and eliminate attack signals, the device additionally integrates a GNSS receiver with a Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna (CRPA) port.
“The IRINS is the first fruit borne of VIAVI’s visionary strategy to mitigate vulnerabilities in positioning, navigation and timing, bringing together resilient satellite-based timing with tactical-grade IMUs to deliver the most precise PNT for GNSS-denied environments,” said Jamie Marraccini, Vice President, Inertial Labs Products, VIAVI. “By tightly coupling inertial sensing, LEO-based timing and navigation and anti-jam GNSS technologies into a single platform, the IRINS provides unmatched continuity, accuracy and trust for operations in contested and denied environments.”
“Assured access to PNT is critical for operations in contested environments,” said Maynard Porter, Director, Government PNT Business, Iridium. “Integrating Iridium PNT alongside VIAVI’s INS and AHRS provides users with an exceptionally resilient source of time and location data to maintain operational effectiveness when GNSS signals are disrupted.”
The IRINS is certified for IP67 and MIL-STD-810G environmental requirements. It is based on the company’s fully calibrated tactical-grade MEMS 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope and clock. These are combined with embedded barometers, magnetometers and an optional onboard air-data computer as part of its AHRS. Satellite communication is provided through the company’s STL-2600 receiver, which links to the Iridium LEO constellation. All capabilities are housed within a compact 126.5 × 49.3 × 53.3 mm enclosure.
