Navigation & Positioning Systems for Tactical UAVs
LITEF's rugged IMU and AHRS solutions are qualified and certified to the highest aviation safety standardsnorthrop-grumman-litef-gmbhNewsBy Mike Ball / 04 Feb 2025
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LITEF, a developer of navigation and positioning systems for tactical UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), based on cutting-edge MEMS and FOG technologies, is a trusted and valued supplier partner on Unmanned Systems Technology.
As a continued partner, UST is proud to spotlight LITEF’s innovative solutions and capabilities via the company’s supplier profile, which has been written and built by our team in collaboration with the company. The Silver profile showcases their rugged IMU and AHRS solutions, which are qualified and certified to the highest aviation safety standards, including DO-178C Level A, DO-254 Level A, DO-160 and equivalent military standards.
Read on to find out more:
The µIMU is an advanced, compact and self-contained IMU that incorporates three MEMS gyros and three MEMS accelerometers in a rugged and hermetically sealed housing. Providing a digital RS-422/HDLC interface, it can be easily integrated into a variety of UAV and unmanned systems platforms, and is ideal for flight control, platform stabilization, and integration into higher-order systems such as AHRS.
The versatile IMU is available with a range of different performance and measurement range options.
LITEF FOG IMUs incorporate three axes of gyroscopes for rotational measurement and three axes of accelerometers for linear acceleration measurement, as well as processing electronics, power supply and I/O interfaces. In addition to this standard configuration, the company can easily create custom designs to meet your specific requirements for UAV navigation, guidance and stabilization. Further performance enhancements can also be achieved via the integration of GPS and GNSS receivers to aid inertial navigation.
These advanced FOG sensors are free of moving parts, ensuring excellent resilience and reliability in high-shock and vibration environments and providing long service lifecycles without the need for periodic maintenance.
Originally developed to provide attitude stabilization for the Eurofighter aircraft, the EF2000 is a quadruple-redundant IMU that delivers exceptional performance under challenging battlefield conditions. It provides continuous measurement of rotation and acceleration rates and calculation of attitude angles and direction, outputting data over a STANAG 3838 interface. With a modular design, the unit continuously self-monitors all functions, automatically diagnosing defective modules and managing redundancy to ensure the utmost in reliability and performance.
The LCR-350B is a MEMS-based AHRS (attitude and heading reference system) designed to provide the very best in safety and reliability in a compact and lightweight package. Outputting robust acceleration and rotation data as well as heading and attitude angles, it is ideal for both fixed-wing and rotary UAV platforms. The system can obtain heading reference from an external magnetometer, and can also output hybrid navigation data with the aid of an external GNSS source.
The rugged AHRS is designed to provide enhanced resistance against high-frequency radiation such as radar, and withstands high levels of shock and vibration. It utilizes an ARINC 429 interface and is certified in accordance with ETSO/TSO C-201 standards.
Posted byMike BallMike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years.Connect
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