Northrop Grumman Corporation received type approval from the German certification authority Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt & Hydrographie (BSH) for the Sperry Marine NAVISTAR satellite compass system. The system is designed to provide a stable heading reference input for radars, autopilots, chart plotters, scanning sonars, automatic identification systems, voyage data recorders, steerable antenna arrays and other devices. The computer continually compares the GPS heading against the
magnetic heading sensor. If the GPS data is lost or degraded, the system switches to the magnetic heading from the integral magnetic field sensor to ensure uninterrupted navigation.