GMV takes part in European GEODE military project

Spain-based GMV is taking responsibility for integration of the GNSS/PRS receiver system for the European Union’s (EU’s) GEODE project.

GEODE (GalilEO for EU DEfence) is the biggest Galileo application development project ever launched and a crucial and decisive step towards the development of the Galileo Galileo PRS (PRS) military user segment. GEODE is and one of the most ambitious defense cooperation projects launched under the umbrella of the European Commission’s European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP).

Co-financed by Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and Spain, GEODE is supported by the EU with a grant of about 44 million Euros.

GMV, part of the Spanish industrial team, will develop the GNSS/PRS receiver’s signal-processing, navigation and timing functions. GMV also participated in the Feb. 8 GEODE kick-off meeting.

GEODE aims to boost the EU industry’s competitiveness in the highly strategic domain of military positioning, navigation, timing and synchronization (PNT) and to endow EU military forces with Galileo PRS capacity. The project will be implemented by a consortium of 30 undertakings from 14 EU countries.

The Spanish industrial team made up by GMV, Indra and Tecnobit, takes on first-level responsibility for the complete development of the solution for naval military platforms (GNSS/PRS receiver with security module and CRPA antenna). GMV is responsible for the integration of the GNSS/PRS receiver system and, in particular, for the development of all the receiver’s signal-processing, navigation and timing functions.

GEODE will provide the EU Industry with an even playing field in the Defense PNT market, where military GPS’s essentialness at the moment ensures U.S. industry’s supremacy. It will also reinforce EU military capability and autonomy and maximize the benefits of the Galileo program by promoting take-up of its crucial PRS service.

Following an initial specification and standardization phase, the project will then prototype, test and qualify all the elements of a complete PRS solution:

• PRS security modules
• PRS receivers
• GPS/Galileo PRS compatible controlled radiation pattern antennas (CRPAs)
• A common and standardized test environment.

A PRS solution for spacecraft will be also designed and prototyped. Complementarily, a PRS infrastructure will be developed to ensure the availability of the security assets necessary for operational testing.

Military operational field testing will be organized on military naval and land platforms, RPAS, and a timing and synchronization system.

GEODE will boost the EU industry competitiveness in the highly strategic domain of military positioning, timing and synchronization, it will foster the equipment of EU Member States’ military forces with the Galileo PRS capability, essential to reinforce their interoperability and autonomy. It also will facilitate access to complex security certified technologies and make them affordable through means of standardization and by creating the necessary critical mass.