Technology Highlight: Fiber Optic Gyroscopes
Over thirty five years have elapsed since the fiberoptic gyro was proposed by Vali and Shorthill. In those decades, fiber-optic gyros (FOG) have matured. As compared to the previous generation of ring laser or mechanical gyro systems, the FOG navigation systems offer significantly smaller size, much lower weight, lower power consumption, vast improvement in life and reliability, all at the same or better level of accuracy.
Using FOG technology, low noise accelerometers, high performance global positioning system, and sophisticated integration algorithms, Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division has demonstrated the FOG navigator's ability to provide extremely low velocity noise information, in turn enabling improved surveillance sensor compensation and reduced target location errors. Transfer alignment techniques also permits leveraging the full accuracy of the FOG navigator to smaller remote inertial measurement units used for motion compensation or stabilization of other sensors such as radar or electro-optic pods.
Related White Papers
- Fiber-Optic Gyros: The Vision Realized
- Northrop Grumman’s Family of Fiber-Optic Based Inertial Navigation Systems
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Transfer Alignment for Harmonization of Targeting Sensors to Minimize Target Location Error
Milestones in Fiber Optic Gyroscope Development at Northrop Grumman
1985
Development of resonant fiber optic gyros begins, and is followed by development of interferometric fiber-optic gyros in 1987.
1988
Development of fiber-optic IMUs begins.
1992
LN-200 in production.
1995
Development of fiber optic inertial navigation systems started on the LN-251 INS product.
1998
Fibersense, now part of Northrop Grumman, started the development of the IMU 600 for precision pointing applications and the IMU 200 for missile defense applications.
2001
The LN-251 fiber optic inertial navigation system enters production.
2003
A land navigation version of the LN-251, designated the LN-270, began development. The LTN-101E for commercial airline market began development.
2005
Northrop Grumman begins development on the LN-260, a fiber optic inertial navigation system specifically designed for the F-16.
Northrop Grumman Navigation Systems Division has manufactured well in excess of 70,000 fiber-optic gyros used in a wide variety of inertial products. These products include rate gyros, inertial measurement units (IMU), and inertial navigation systems (INS).
Current Northrop Grumman Fiber Optic Gyroscopes
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Career opportunities at Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems