The U.S. Air Force has made plans to make the signal that guides its Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) more secure, as a result of Iraqi attempts to jam U.S satellite-guided weapons in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Essentially, a smart tail kit attached to a dumb bomb, the JDAM includes adjustable fins, a control computer, an inertial guidance system, and a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. From the ground, military units pinpoint targets using the GPS receiver. The receiver then submits the target coordinates to the computer inside the JDAM’s tail kit, which uses signals from the GPS satellites to guide the 500, 1,000 or 2,000 pound to within two meters of the aim point.
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In April, Boeing awarded the Harris Corporation of Melbourne, Fla. a $3.9 million contract to construct a computer module that will attach to the GPS receiver. Prototypes are expected sometime within the next two years. The Harris anti-jam technology will help recognize the interference, teaching the antenna to ignore the jammer signals. The price of the new jammer, Harris claims, will not exceed $20,000, the cost of a single JDAM kit. Furthermore, Boeing has also recruited an unnamed company to develop anti-spoofing equipment to guard against false transmissions of GPS satellite data through encrypting the codes on the circuit card inside the tail kit.
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