WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force successfully tested its next-generation military-code GPS signal in a jammed environment using a Raytheon-built receiver, according to a July 9 press release from the company.

Equipped with a specialized M-code receiver card, Raytheon’s Miniaturized Airborne GPS Receiver 2000 sustained a GPS satellite tracking signal and provided accurate navigation information at jamming levels that exceeded technical requirements, the company said. M-code receivers are expected to provide significantly better position-location, navigation and timing than civilian receivers.

The test, which occurred in late spring at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, marked the first time an M-code receiver card has been successfully tested in an avionics GPS receiver, the release said. “These results provide the Air Force with a clear path forward for fielding M-code capable GPS receivers,” Sharon Black, director of Raytheon’s GPS & Navigation Systems organization, said in the release.

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Mike Gruss is a senior staff writer for SpaceNews. He joined the publication in January 2013 to cover military space. Previously, he worked as a reporter and columnist for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va. and The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind. He...