Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division introduced the VPX3-673A, the first rugged module that delivers an Assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) solution that includes Alternative Navigation (ALTNAV) and the pntOS architecture. ALTNAV, a space-based commercial system, is currently being evaluated by the U.S. Army as an alternative/complementary source of PNT information on the battlefield. As an open-source, government-owned plug-in architecture for building integrated PNT sensor-fusion applications, pntOS significantly reduces the time and effort required to develop algorithms and add support for new sensors. The VPX3-673A is a rugged 3U OpenVPX form factor module compatible with the U.S. Army’s CMOSS suite of standards and aligned to the SOSA Technical Standard 1.0.

At the heart of the VPX3-673A is a low noise Chip Scale Atomic Clock (LN-CSAC), with intelligence provided by a Xilinx MPSoC. These devices are complemented by an ALTNAV receiver and a 10-degree-of-freedom Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The board supports an internal GPS module capable of both SASSM and M-CODE or an external GPS via an easily accessible front panel connector. The VPX3-673A communicates PNT information using standard VICTORY data messages in compliance with the CMOSS Mounted Form Factor (CMFF) architecture.

Designed to meet the SOSA radial clock profile SLT3x-TIM-2S1U22S1U2U1H-14.9.2-1, the VPX3-673A also acts as system-wide timing master by producing and distributing reliable, phase-aligned, clock signals. The source is user selectable from multiple options, including the LN-CSAC, GPS, ALTNAV, or external sources via the Ethernet backplane or coaxes connectors. Additionally, this module supports NTP/PTP protocol. In compliance with the SOSA radial clock profile, the VPX3-673A can output 11 radial clocks on the backplane and one radial clock on the coax connector. Multiple VPX3-673A modules can be daisy-chained together if more clock channels are required.