Collins Aerospace has been awarded a multimillion-pound contract to support the British Government’s Weapons Sector Research Framework (WSRF).
The framework is managed by the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
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It has been designed to expedite the development of future weapons technologies by conducting weapons science and technology research.
As part of the latest multi-year award, Collins Aerospace will work together with Dstl to develop an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to support the emerging complex weapons platforms.
This tactical grade or Class A inertial sensor will be developed using micro-electro-mechanical systems technology.
Collins Aerospace IMU Value Stream leader Stuart Cooper said: “Complex weapons of the future require a higher grade of IMU navigation capability that can withstand harsher environments.
“Over our 100-year history in Inertial Systems design, Collins has delivered hundreds of thousands of IMUs to both the military and commercial markets.
“Our forthcoming multi-year relationship with Dstl will provide enhanced capability to our users worldwide.”
The company will perform the associated work at its engineering and manufacturing facility in Plymouth, UK.
A Collins Aerospace’s Advanced Technology team in Bristol will also support the IMU development work.
According to Collins, the IMU technology provides navigation and guidance for a variety of multi-domain platforms.
It will ensure the delivery of desired performance from the platform at a comparatively lower cost.
The new inertial sensor also has a smaller form factor than the existing fibre-optic gyro and ring laser gyro solutions.
In 2020, UK-based company QinetiQ was selected as a prime contractor for the WSRF initiative.
