EMCORE to Develop High-End Tactical-Grade IMU

A major U.S. prime contractor has awarded a development contract valued at $1.1 million to EMCORE Corporation for the design and manufacture a high-end Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for tactical intelligence and reconnaissance systems.

EMCORE, a leading provider of advanced mixed-signal products serving aerospace & defense and broadband communications markets, has successfully completed the prototype phase and as part of the contract in this follow-on phase, will deliver initial production units that will be used for proof of manufacturing and system level qualification.

This custom IMU will be based on EMCORE’s proprietary closed-loop Fiber Optic Gyro (FOG) technology that delivers proven CSWaP (Cost, Size, Weight, and Power) and performance advantages over other FOGs and competing technologies. It is designed to deliver the highest level of performance in EMCORE’s tactical IMU product line, exceeding EMCORE’s EN-300. EMCORE’s FOG IMU technology delivers 10X the bias performance of legacy systems in compact form, fit, and function compatible packages.

EMCORE’s Director of Sales & Marketing for navigation products David Hoyh, said of the project “EMCORE demonstrated its ability to quickly move from proof of design to proof of manufacturing for this complex, strategic IMU to support a U.S. Government customer’s maturity milestone effort. We are extremely pleased to be selected for this program to develop a high-performance IMU for these demanding applications.”

“This agreement with one of our most important customers is another key design win for our Navigation business,” commented Jeffrey Rittichier, EMCORE’s President and CEO. “It further demonstrates the value of our Mixed-Signal products and our strategy for Transforming Navigation that enables the versatility to customize our products to meet very specific customer demands. We are honored to be selected for this program,” added Mr. Rittichier.