May 30, 2024
To improve both the robustness and resiliency of the Department’s access to positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Rapid Architecture Prototyping and Integration Development (RAPID) Laboratory is conducting research and development into potential commercial, space-based alternatives to improve PNT solutions for DoD missions when GPS is available and replace GPS for some period of time should it not be available. NAVSYS has been awarded a contract under AFRL’s Commercial Alternative Positioning, Navigation and Timing for RAPID (CAPR) program to develop and mature key elements of their PNTaaS (PNT as a Service) system architecture needed to support operations around the world where GPS is degraded or denied.
The widespread adoption of GPS for both military and civil applications, such as transportation, agriculture, aviation and emergency services has also created a set of security vulnerabilities for these applications, when GPS service is denied. As reported by GPS world, widespread GPS jamming occurred in eastern Europe in March 2024 that impacted more than 1,600 aircraft over a period of two days. Similar events are now being reported on a frequent basis by gpsjam.org both in eastern Europe and in the eastern Mediterranean where the Israel-Hamas and Israel-Hezbollah conflicts are taking place.
NAVSYS’ PNTaaS solution is designed to leverage existing SATCOM signals to provide PNT services in the absence of GPS. Their technology leverages broadband signals operating outside of the L-band frequencies where GPS and other GNSS solutions are being jammed. Moreover, the multiple frequency allocations for SATCOM, including C-band, Ku and K-band, provide high levels of resilience while providing equivalent PNT performance to GPS when leveraging the PNTaaS system’s data services. Test results previously published by NAVSYS have demonstrated the system’s capability to use satellites operated by Intelsat, Viasat, Eutelsat, SES and Telesat to deliver back-up PNT capability to GPS.
“Affordable alternatives to GPS and GNSS are critically needed to support PNT applications in areas where GPS is now being denied”, said Dr. Alison Brown, CEO of NAVSYS. “We are excited about working with AFRL and our SATCOM partners to accelerate deployment of the PNTaaS capability to provide resilient PNT alternatives when GPS in unavailable.”
NAVSYS will showcase these solutions at the Joint Navigation Conference held June 3-6 in the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio area.
