Northrop Grumman and Honeywell received separate contracts from the U.S. Air Force to provide Global Positioning navigation system technology support.

The contract values for Northrop Grumman and Honeywell amount to $49 million and $30 million, respectively.

Each company will provide maturation and risk reduction technical services for Embedded Global Positioning System and Inertial Navigation System -Modernization technology, or EGI-M.

Northrop Grumman will perform its work in Woodland Hills, Calif., while Honeywell will conduct its tasks in Clearwater, Fla. The U.S. Department of Defense expects both contracts to be complete by June 30, 2018.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting activity.

EGI technologies are designed to provide military aircraft operators with self-contained, all-altitude navigation systems

U.S. Air Force connects Stratotanker training simulators
Washington (UPI) Apr 7, 2017 - The U.S. Air Force has directed contractor Canadian Aviation Electronics to connect KC-135 Stratotanker simulators to other mobility platforms.

The simulators will be integrated with the Air Force's Distributed Training Center Network. Once the work is complete, personnel will be able to receive instruction for operating the tanker aircraft from different military bases.

"We currently have two simulators where we can link the two together to perform formation flights," Maj. Brian Sikkema explained in a press release. "What we are moving to next, and what the Air Force is moving to as a whole, is to bring more training online to the virtual world. The next step is tying our simulators to a server that all the other Air Force simulators are tied to."

Trainees will soon be able to experience simulations connected with the boom operator simulator to enhance aerial-refueling instruction, the main function of the KC-135.

"It allows us to train exactly how we would fight and take out a lot of the restrictions," Sikkema added.

The Air Force official went on to explain simulators are helpful for reducing the cost of training pilots while also providing them with beneficial experience. The cost to operate a KC-135 Stratotanker, he says, equates to roughly $8,000 an hour. By contrast, simulators cost about $500 an hour.

The KC-135 Stratotanker is an air-to-air refueling platform used to support fighters and other allied aircraft during combat and reconnaissance missions. It can also be used for transporting littler and ambulatory patients.

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Russia inaugurates GPS-type satellite station in Nicaragua
Managua (AFP) April 7, 2017
Russia has inaugurated a new satellite station in Nicaragua that will operate its GLONASS system, designed to rival America's GPS network, according to officials. Igor Komarov, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, on Thursday hailed the moment for opening "a new page in this history," Nicaragua's state-run news website 19 de Julio reported. The station built in Nicaragua's southe ... read more

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