Jamming in the Desert

By Eric Scott

It wasn't your typical road trip packing list. Alongside routine supplies, three Northrop Grumman engineers loaded a white cargo van with cutting-edge technology for rigorous military testing. Their mission would take them deep into a dark, barren desert where the challenge was clear: Could their equipment withstand a test too big to conduct in a lab? 

Meet this dedicated trio and buckle up for a trip to NAVFEST! 

The Team 

Arturo Brambila, Sarah Grundeen and Andrew Hsu, all from Northrop Grumman’s Woodland Hills, California site, share a lot in common. They grew up in Southern California, attended UCLA for their engineering degrees, and now work together on the Northrop Grumman advanced airborne navigation system — Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS) / Inertial Navigation System (INS) Modernization, better known as EGI-M. This system, equipped with a military code (M-code) capable receiver, enables continuous navigation for missions in GPS-contested environments where signal jamming is an issue. 

Legacy GPS systems may be impacted in areas where signals are denied or spoofed, leading to mis-navigation. The EGI-M, however, can operate effectively in these conditions. 

“I am motivated by the mission of developing new technologies that can help protect our nation and its warfighters,” Andrew said. “The need for resilient navigation and timing solutions is higher than ever.”

Testing at NAVFEST 

The annual NAVFEST event at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico is where the team put the system to the test. Hosted by the U.S. Air Force’s 746th Test Squadron (746 TS), this invite-only event spans 3,200 square miles, offering a realistic GPS-jamming environment. Now in its 20th year, the latest NAVFEST event featured 25 teams from DoD agencies, defense contractors, civil organizations, and allied nations. 

Arturo, Sarah and Andrew subjected EGI-M to simulated jamming scenarios that only White Sands’ remote environment could provide. Their mission: to see how well the advanced navigation system could perform against a barrage of constant signal jamming. 

Go-Time 

The trip from Woodland Hills to White Sands took 900 miles. Between coffee breaks and sing-alongs to Taylor Swift, Gwen Stefani and The Plain White Ts, the team bonded, tackling challenges along the way.

“Driving the van through the desert was very stressful as there were high winds,” Sarah said. “I feel like that experience contributed to us bonding as a crew; we were constantly checking in with each other to make sure we were still good to continue driving.” 

At NAVFEST, testing began after sundown to minimize interference with regular GPS operations. Each session started with a 10 p.m. security briefing, followed by teams rolling out in a convoy behind an Air Force vehicle emitting various jamming threats. The team tested navigation systems with and without M-code receivers and anti-jamming mechanisms to compare performance. 

“Andrew would be in the back of the van calling out the jamming scenarios,” said Sarah. “We’d say, ‘We’re down to one satellite, now all satellites are jammed,’ and it was really cool to watch the live debugging and quick adjustments to overcome barriers.” 

Teamwork Powers Performance 

In the end, EGI-M performed as expected, demonstrating high resilience. The anti-jam functionality showed even more resistance, reinforcing Northrop Grumman’s leadership in navigation technology. 

“Our synergy is quite nice, and we make a great team,” said Arturo. “We all know our roles and when situations come up, nobody needs any direction, we know what to do.” 

In addition to technical success, the trio returned from NAVFEST with a stronger bond. 

“We spent some more serious times talking about how we grew up,” said Sarah, whose grandfather also worked at her same Woodland Hills site for a Northrop Grumman legacy company. “Even though we worked together for years before this trip, we became much closer.” 

The trip proved to be more than a test — the trio returned with a new bond that will shape their work going forward. 

“I am proud of the entire EGI-M team,” Sarah said. “We’ve been working so hard to get this in the sky and each milestone has been such a great accomplishment.”