Test results from a tactical grade IMU using fiber optic gyros and quartz accelerometers

Honeywell has been under contract with the US Air Force to develop a very small tactical grade fiber optic gyro (FOG) IMU. This paper covers program requirements, the FOG IMU description and test results. The unit is 25 cu. inches in volume and has a gyro performance specification of 1-10 deg/hr over the full military temperature range. The unit has been designed with cost the most important parameter in a tradeoff with performance in the specified range. The design approach to the FOG´s includes the use of non-polarization maintaining fiber and a unique signal processing approach to minimize the number of components. The use of allied signal quartz vibrating beam accelerometers provides for small size and low cost with tactical performance. Test results over environment evaluate the stability of the gyro and accelerometer parameters through repeated calibrations