Blazing Trails

Imagine a hypersonic vessel rocketing through the atmosphere at over five times the speed of sound, enduring temperatures surpassing 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and withstanding crushing pressures capable of flattening a glass bottle in the blink of an eye, all while being guided with extraordinary precision to land exactly on target.

One of the hardest challenges these vessels face is navigating without the aid of GPS, which isn’t always available due to jamming and spoofing from nearby threats. Maintaining accurate and reliable navigation in GPS-denied environments is crucial for mission success.

Northrop Grumman is turning this vision into reality, becoming the first to successfully design and complete multiple tests of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that can guide hypersonic vehicles through intense environments, including space. 

“At hyper speed, in areas where many systems would fail, we are moving the world one step closer to navigating, controlling and integrating with technology traveling at or above Mach 5,” said Josei Chang, director of advanced technologies. 

Turning Design into Reality 

Early one morning in the dry and vast Mojave Desert, Stratolaunch’s Talon-A hypersonic vehicle soared on the fringes of the Earth's atmosphere. The hypersonic vehicle carried Northrop Grumman's game-changing navigation technology through extreme GPS-denied environments at hypersonic speeds.

This successful test paved the way for another to shortly follow, demonstrating the reusability and survivability of the IMU.

During both flight tests, Northrop Grumman partnered with Stratolaunch® to test the technology aboard their reusable, autonomous hypersonic test bed. Our IMUs, equipped with advanced sensors, constantly collected data and sent it to the ground teams via radio waves. The teams at base used this data to improve knowledge of the system’s acceleration, pressure, temperature and velocity.

“Our engineers are always out innovating themselves when developing new technologies, and this is no exception. We are truly pioneering a ‘first-of-its-kind’ hypersonic navigation technology,” said Josei. “Our research is being proven time and time again with each of these tests.”

Due to the immense progress made with the first two flight tests, a third test was conducted. While flying on a sounding rocket, the same IMU surpassed previous g-force tolerance, altitude and velocity expectations, further proving its ability to perform in GPS-denied environments. All three tests were completed within a six-month period, an incredible feat that demonstrates Northrop Grumman’s speed and agility. 

Throughout history, getting to a distinct destination safely challenged humanity to develop tools that could accurately pilot aircraft, captain ships and steer vehicles through the unknown. From using the North Star or a compass to various satellites, navigation technology has been and will continue to be vital for military operations, commercial travel and space exploration.

Northrop Grumman is a proven leader in developing resilient position, navigation and timing solutions for national defense. With decades of experience designing and building navigation technology for the military, our goal is to continue to support military operations, so warfighters not only have an advantage in the battlespace, but protection while on the move.   

“Other systems require GPS which can be jammed and tampered with; our IMUs don’t, making them more survivable and a potent deterrent,” said Lawrence Linick, program manager for positioning navigation technology. 

The Best Offense is Speed   

Championing the most precise navigation will be critical for our military’s defense. With the expertise of our team, sophisticated engineering and manufacturing processes, and innovative thinking, Northrop Grumman is advancing hypersonic navigation technology. Using this technology, our armed forces can maneuver and land hypersonic vehicles traveling at Mach 5 speed or faster, all while resisting the most sophisticated threats. 

“We are making strides by guiding hypersonic vehicles more accurately than anyone else,” said Lawrence.

 

 

*Aircraft carrying a hypersonic vehicle with Northrop Grumman's technology on board, moments before its successful hypersonic test. (Photo Credit: Stratolaunch)