Microchip Technology on Aug. 13 introduced the Space CSAC-SA65, a radiation-tolerant chip-scale atomic clock designed to bring atomic-clock timing accuracy to small, power-constrained satellite missions.

The company said the growing New Space market is driving demand for smaller, less expensive space hardware supporting short-duration missions in applications such as satellite-to-cellular communications, alternative navigation and Earth imaging. Built on the heritage of Microchip’s Space CSAC-SA45, the new device extends radiation tolerance to at least 30 kRad and operates across an extended temperature range of -40 degrees C to +80 degrees C. It consumes less than 120 mW and occupies under 17 cubic centimeters, with built-in 1 PPS input and output for satellite synchronization. The atomic stability lets systems maintain timing accuracy for extended periods without continuous reliance on GNSS signals.

Randy Brudzinski, corporate vice president of Microchip’s frequency and time systems business unit, said the device brings atomic-clock performance to size-, weight-, power- and cost-constrained applications, adding that “even the smallest CubeSat can now fly with atomic accuracy.”

COTS Manufacturing, LEO Applications

Manufactured as a commercial off-the-shelf product using radiation-tolerant commercial electronic components, the CSAC-SA65 is intended to offer shorter lead times and lower overall costs compared with traditional space-grade oscillators. Microchip is targeting the device at Low Earth Orbit missions, including satellite timing and frequency control, satellite clock reference, assured positioning, navigation and timing, and satellite cross-linking.

The company describes its original Space CSAC line as the industry’s first commercially available radiation-tolerant chip-scale atomic clock, and positions the SA65 generation as a further step in reducing size, weight and power for LEO applications spanning commercial, scientific and defense payloads. The device, part number 090-02789-007, is available now through Microchip’s sales and distribution network, supported by the company’s Clockstudio software for control and analysis of atomic clocks and a CSAC Developer Kit.

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Javad GNSS on Aug. 12 introduced a new GNSS+INS product line built to keep navigation systems operating when GPS signals are jammed, spoofed or denied.

The US-based receiver manufacturer built the line by pairing its multi-constellation GNSS receivers with commercial and defense-grade IMU modules through a purpose-built interface board, creating a turnkey navigation system for OEMs. The board manages the electrical connection, time synchronization and data path between the receiver and IMU, work integrators previously had to handle themselves when sourcing components separately, choosing instead between a sealed GNSS+INS box built around a single fixed inertial sensor or a fully custom integration effort.

A Configurable Inertial Choice

The inertial sensor remains a configurable choice rather than a fixed component, letting Javad match the IMU to a program’s grade, dynamic range and cost requirements without compromising the performance of the underlying GNSS unit. Current configurations support gyro dynamic ranges up to plus-or-minus 2,000 degrees per second, in-run gyro bias stability between 0.7 and 2 degrees per hour, and accelerometer ranges from plus-or-minus 8g to plus-or-minus 40g.

Gary Walker, executive vice president at Javad GNSS, said the configuration means integrators “can get GNSS performance and anti-jam protection” while still choosing the inertial sensor that fits their program.

Javad designs and manufactures its GNSS receivers in-house at its San Jose, California facility, building on the company’s proprietary TRIUMPH ASIC technology, which the company has marketed for its patented spoofing and jamming detection since introducing the chip’s high channel-count architecture roughly a decade ago. The GNSS+INS configuration is available now for evaluation and integration by qualified users.

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Furuno Electric announced July 28 that it plans to release the RCB-100 GNSS timing receiver in November 2026, packaging carrier-grade time synchronization performance into a standard RCB form factor designed for simpler integration into low-volume equipment.

The receiver draws on technology developed for Furuno’s GT-100 GNSS module, which the company describes as having built an extensive track record of adoption in the base station and telecommunications infrastructure markets. The GT-100 supports dual-frequency reception on the L1 and L5 bands and achieves timing stability under 4.5 nanoseconds, using an anti-multipath algorithm developed with NTT called Dynamic Satellite Selection to minimize timing degradation in urban environments where GNSS antennas may be placed near windows or amid signal reflections. The module supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and SBAS constellations and can automatically mitigate jamming while notifying users in real time of the interfering signal’s frequency and strength.

Carrier-Grade Performance Without Custom RF Design

The RCB-100 delivers that same nanosecond-level accuracy and interference resilience in a format that eliminates the need for dedicated RF circuit design or PCB-level module mounting. Instead of soldering and reflow assembly, the unit installs with screws and a mating connector, and uses a standard SMB antenna connector to minimize RF line design work.

Furuno said the design addresses a persistent barrier for equipment manufacturers: the higher the required GNSS performance, the greater the engineering overhead required for integration, a challenge particularly acute for low-volume products where a custom design is not cost-effective. Target applications for the RCB-100 include telecommunications base stations, time servers, data center systems, financial trading systems, power grid infrastructure and broadcasting equipment, sectors where precise time synchronization underpins critical operations. The company said it will extend the trust established through GT-100 to a wider range of equipment and applications for critical infrastructure through a broader product lineup designed to accommodate customers’ implementation environments.

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Since the Iridium PNT ASIC’s unveiling in October 2025, Iridium has received unprecedented demand from more than 150 organizations worldwide, spanning maritime, unmanned and autonomous systems (UXV), aviation, telecommunications, and other critical infrastructure sectors.

“The market response to the Iridium PNT ASIC has reinforced what we’re hearing from customers around the world: assured PNT is becoming an essential capability across critical industries,” said Dr. Michael O’Connor, executive vice president, PNT, Iridium. “With commercial availability, we’re enabling manufacturers to integrate trusted timing and location capabilities into smaller, more efficient designs, making assured PNT accessible to more applications than ever before.”

Measuring just 8 by 8 millimeters and weighing less than 0.2 grams, the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) represents a major step forward in expanding access to assured PNT technologies at scale. The chip delivers cryptographically secure timing and location data from the Iridium satellite network through one-way signal bursts that are powerful enough to work where traditional GNSS often cannot, including inside structures and in contested environments.

By continuously validating signal integrity and delivering trusted PNT data anywhere on Earth, the Iridium PNT ASIC provides a powerful new foundation not only for resilient navigation, but also timing. Financial markets, telecommunications networks, power grids, and governments all depend on precise time synchronization to coordinate operations and maintain reliable service.

As global reliance on GNSS continues to grow, so does the frequency and sophistication of signal interference such as jamming and spoofing. Recent incidents including the May 2026 in-flight jamming of United Kingdom Defence Secretary John Healey highlight increasing operational and safety risks associated with GNSS spoofing and jamming across commercial transportation, aviation, and critical infrastructure environments. According to a 2019 study sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a GPS outage was estimated to cost the U.S. economy approximately $1 billion per day. Adjusted for inflation, that figure would exceed $1.3 billion per day in 2026, underscoring the growing importance of reliable backup solutions.

Compact Assured PNT Integration Underway

Solace Communications, a provider of mission-critical communications solutions for demanding and remote environments, is one of several Iridium partners integrating the Iridium PNT ASIC. Its Vector family of assured PNT products combines Iridium PNT with multi-band GNSS and inertial sensing to deliver resilient positioning, navigation, and timing with continuous confidence scoring, while LTE and Iridium Short Burst Data® (SBD®) provide secure telemetry and messaging.

“The Iridium PNT ASIC supports our wider strategy of building one of the first edge-native, confidence-scored assured PNT platforms around multiple sources of positioning, timing, and motion data,” said Adam Elcock, co-founder, Solace Communications. “Future navigation systems must do more than report a position. They must continuously determine whether that position and its timing can be trusted. That is the role Vector has been designed to fulfill and is now being deployed.”

Skyband Systems, a developer of aviation-grade, PNT-resilient navigation hardware, will integrate the Iridium PNT ASIC into its M100 LRU for business and commercial aviation. The M100 combines Iridium PNT with onboard inertial sensing to alert crews to GNSS jamming and spoofing while providing aircraft location for enhanced situational awareness.

“Iridium’s secure and powerful global service is the perfect platform for Skyband’s resilient navigation product,” said Robert Wiggenhorn, co-founder, Skyband Systems. “We are excited to partner with Iridium as they launch the Iridium PNT ASIC and look forward to further strengthening their legacy of aircraft innovation and safety.”

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The new version keeps the original’s compact footprint — 30×28×13.3 mm, 19 grams, roughly 0.3 W typical power draw — while adding a wider ±4000°/s gyroscope range, integrated three-axis magnetometers for a full 9-DoF output, and motion-to-output latency down to 1.5 ms at data rates up to 2 kHz. The company says gyro bias stability, long-term bias repeatability, and scale-factor accuracy have all been improved over the first-generation unit.

A notable new feature is built-in vibration analysis: the IMU continuously monitors its mechanical environment and outputs a full vibration spectrum from 4 Hz to 8 kHz, including raw FFT data and summarized reports, without external instrumentation. SBG says this is intended to speed up integration, qualification, and troubleshooting for platforms operating in harsh vibration environments. The hardware also adds vibration damping and improved EMC resistance.

The unit is form, fit, and function compatible with the original Pulse-40, so existing integrations can upgrade with limited redesign. SBG’s Gaël Bielecki said the combination of small size, ruggedness, and vibration monitoring targets platforms like guided rockets, precision-guided glide bombs, and loitering munitions, while Head of Product Management Yoann Plenet framed the vibration-monitoring capability as a way to give engineers direct insight into mechanical conditions up to 8 kHz.

The Pulse-40 OEM is available now for evaluation and integration programs.

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Formally designated the LN-351, the system incorporates fiber-optic inertial navigation paired with Military-code (M-code) GPS — an encrypted, military-specific signal providing enhanced resistance to jamming and spoofing. A capability called Blended Navigation Assurance validates GPS data integrity even when signals are under threat.

The software architecture allows operators to host third-party PNT applications without manufacturer involvement, enabling integration of complementary sensors and tracking of non-GPS satellite constellations. The design completed rigorous hardware and software testing to military specifications ahead of full-scale production.

“EGI-M enhances operational effectiveness and is built with the flexibility to defeat today’s threats and adapt to future mission demands,” said Ryan Arrington, vice president of navigation and cockpit systems at Northrop Grumman. Lt. Col. Chris Grover of the U.S. Air Force described the system as enabling mission execution “where we want to, with the capability we need, at the time of our choosing.”

Upon full production, military customers will receive a unified hardware and software navigation solution designed for seamless integration across platforms.

The delivery comes as GPS jamming and spoofing have emerged as routine features of modern conflict. Across Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Baltic region, documented interference has degraded navigation for both military and civilian operators, accelerating demand for M-code-capable and multi-constellation PNT solutions across allied air forces.

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Agriculture has entered the era of continuous PNT.

Precision agriculture is moving toward full automation. Guidance systems once treated GNSS as the entire solution; today, the industry recognizes that satellite signals are necessary but insufficient. Farms have become complex RF environments. Tree canopy, terrain, outbuildings, seasonal geometry shifts, multipath near grain elevators, interference from adjacent equipment, and the simple reality that tractors roam in and out of open-sky visibility all challenge the idea that GNSS alone can sustain continuity.

OEMs are building guidance systems that must keep machines on path even when GNSS falters. Autonomy depends on uninterrupted perception of position, velocity and attitude. That means pairing GNSS with inertial systems engineered for agricultural machines, not adapted from other domains.

In a recent conversation with Inside GNSS, Tzeno Galchev, Director, Product Marketing and Applications Engineering for Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), described how their inertial measurement units (IMUs) are being integrated into next-generation tractors, implements, drones and robotics platforms. ADI’s engineers are focused on what really matters in the field: disciplined inertial performance, controlled lifetime drift, rugged packaging and reliable sensor fusion with GNSS. The message was unambiguous: Autonomy in agriculture can scale rapidly when inertial becomes a baseline requirement. 

The Market Reality: Why Inertial Matters Now 

Precision agriculture has matured beyond the first decade of “straight-line” GNSS guidance. Machines now operate in a wider set of field geometries, crop types and environmental constraints. Several forces are converging:

Tractors are evolving from operator-assisted systems to autonomy-ready platforms. Implements are following, including precision planters, high-clearance sprayers, and robotic harvesters. Each requires continuous PNT. A single GNSS dropout during an autonomous end-of-row turn can result in overlap, missed coverage or unsafe behavior.

Agriculture spans open sky areas and GNSS-hostile corridors. Machines pass under tree rows, within orchard canopies, beside barns or silos, or along field edges lined with windbreaks. Modern high-value crops, such as vineyards, orchards and berries, introduce dense canopy that disrupts L-band signals. Even row crops can create directional multi-path in late summer.

OEM Pressure to Deliver “Always-on” Paths

Agricultural OEMs face customer expectations shaped by the automotive sector. The question is no longer whether GNSS can deliver accuracy; it is whether the total system delivers continuity. That continuity is now a competitive differentiator. Dead-reckoning performance, not positional Root Mean Square (RMS) in open sky, shapes the user experience.

Cost Realism and the Mid-Market Explosion

Farm sizes vary globally. Not every user can justify aerospace-tier inertial systems. ADI’s view is that precision agriculture needs inertial performance that respects cost boundaries while still meeting the dynamics of field machinery: vibration, temperature cycling and shock.

“The demand is there because there’s a shortage of workforce, especially in the developed countries, and these machines make a considerable difference in the cost and efficiency of farming operations,” Galchev said. “They are replacing and reducing the number of workers needed as well as putting workers out of harm’s way.” 

The Shift to Autonomy-Grade Attitude Estimation

GNSS provides position and velocity; but many operations require continuous knowledge of roll, pitch and yaw. Sprayers use boom leveling. Planters need implement attitude to maintain depth accuracy. Drones require stable orientation in low-signal environments. INS establishes those states even when GNSS is degraded.

THE RESULT: GNSS remains the reference, but inertial is now the mechanism that closes the reliability gap.

Inertial Basics for Agricultural Platforms 

Agricultural operators rarely see inertial systems directly. They see better lines, fewer skips, improved boom stability, and smoother turns. Under the hood:

• IMUs measure angular rate and acceleration along orthogonal axes.

• Sensor fusion in an inertial navigation system (INS) uses those measurements to propagate position, velocity and attitude during GNSS gaps.

• Drift is inherent, but it can be minimized, modeled and constrained with well-tuned sensor fusion.

• GNSS resets the INS, bounding cumulative error.

• Agricultural use-cases emphasize short-to-medium duration bridging, not long-haul independent navigation.

Modern MEMS technology has reduced noise, bias instability, and temperature sensitivity to levels appropriate for automotive-grade and robotic applications. ADI’s work has focused on improving consistency across production units, strengthening environmental robustness, and integrating compensation routines at the firmware level.

Agricultural machinery introduces several complicating factors that inertial systems must handle cleanly:

• High vibration environments from diesel engines, tillage tools, and PTO-driven implements.

• Complex motion during headland turns, uneven terrain and differential traction events.

• Thermal swings, from dawn cold starts to midday heat.

• Mechanical shock, especially on implements.

• Long duty cycles, including 14 to 18 hour days in planting or harvest season.

This environment is less deterministic than automotive and more dynamic than many robotics platforms. The IMU/INS must treat vibration as a feature of the mission, not a source of error.

ADI’s Technical Approach

ADI designs inertial solutions with a focus on predictable error behavior, rugged packaging and stable sensor fusion. The company emphasizes several technical principles:

VIBRATION TOLERANCE. Farm machinery produces persistent broadband vibration. ADI considers how vibration intrinsically disturbs the sensors and ADI engineers design mechanical structures that better suppress, cancel and otherwise reduce the effect of vibration directly into the MEMS structures themselves because once vibration is allowed to pollute the sensor signal, it is too late for the INS system to do anything about it. This ensures the INS maintains the correct angular-rate and acceleration signatures even when implements shake violently.

BIAS REPEATABILITY. This is the lifetime bias drift expectation that intends to capture all unmodeled error sources and is not commonly specified in MEMS IMU datasheets. It provides a single error window that will determine the convergence times for critical estimation/filter loops. For systems that need to turn and deploy quickly, failure to anticipate and quantify these errors can limit deployment time and degrade initial heading accuracy. In their latest products, ADI has expanded their Bias Repeatability definition to include turn-on drift/settling, drift from package stress relief, electronic drift and thermal hysteresis. In parallel with expanding the coverage of this specification, ADI has reduced this metric by an order of magnitude in recently-released devices, such as the ADIS16545 and ADIS16576. 

AXIS-TO-AXIS ALIGNMENT. With tight axis-to-axis alignment out of the box and calibrated through an extensive inertial routine over multiple temperature set-points, tight alignment can be achieved only using mechanical alignment features. For tighter alignment than 0.25° one could leverage the tight axis-to-axis alignment (along with excellent bias repeatability in the accelerometer) to greatly simplify the frame alignment process. 

LINEAR, TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED BEHAVIOR. Temperature gradients on tractors and implements are large. ADI incorporates temperature compensation models enforced at both the sensor and system level. The goal is not perfect thermal invariance, which is unrealistic in cost-sensitive segments, but predictable behavior that fusion algorithms can model accurately.

FUSION-FIRST PHILOSOPHY. ADI treats the IMU as one component of a larger PNT solution. Their systems are designed for tight integration with GNSS receivers, wheel speed sensors, magnetometers, and vehicle CAN data. Robust synchronization and time-based alignment of the inertial output simplifies system coupling. This architecture enables robust attitude estimation and velocity smoothing, especially during headlands or canopy exposure.

PREDICTABLE LIFECYCLE PERFORMANCE. Agricultural platforms must last. ADI designs for multi-season reliability and bounded long-term drift. The objective is to ensure a machine equipped with an ADI IMU behaves the same in year four as it did in year one.

“You can’t calibrate a sensor’s inherent noise performance, its stability, or its response to vibration,” Galchev said. “These unmodeled error sources directly produce error at the output, and that’s where ADI focuses on innovating at the chip level.”

This technical discipline supports the system-level view: Inertial is not a premium feature; it is a foundation for reliable GNSS-enabled autonomy.

Integration in the Field: What Engineers Face

Engineers integrating inertial systems into agricultural machines confront real-world constraints that differ from lab conditions. ADI’s field experience highlights specific patterns.

Booms flex. Toolbars vibrate. Tractor frames twist. Sensor placement often becomes a compromise. An INS may be exposed to off-axis motion uncorrelated with actual vehicle trajectory. ADI mitigates this through calibration routines, filtering strategies, and noise modeling that treat flex and vibration as signal partitions.

Implements as Independent Dynamic Systems

The implement behind a tractor behaves differently from the tractor itself. For operations like variable-rate spraying or multi-row harvesting, implement attitude, even when decoupled from tractor motion, must be sensed accurately. IMUs can be mounted on booms or frames to track these dynamics.

Agricultural systems rely on multiple data streams: GNSS, wheel speed, steering angle, hydraulic cylinder positions, and sometimes LiDAR or camera inputs. INS integration requires precise timing alignment. ADI designs its systems for deterministic latency and reliable time stamping, which improves fusion accuracy.

The transition from row guidance to headland turns stresses both GNSS and INS. Machines accelerate, decelerate, rotate sharply, and pass through GNSS-obstructed corners. ADI’s inertial fusion helps maintain attitude and velocity states during these high-dynamic transitions.

Agricultural drones operate close to trees and terrain. Ground robots operate beneath canopy. INS solutions provide roll/pitch stability, altitude smoothing, and fallback motion propagation when GNSS is degraded.

Economics: Performance Within Reach

Precision agriculture is expanding beyond large, capital-intensive farms. The next wave of adoption will come from mid-market operations and mixed-crop geographies.

• Cost matters. Expensive IMUs are non-starters. ADI designs MEMS-based solutions that offer robust performance within an accessible cost envelope.

• Scalability drives OEM decisions. Manufacturers want sensors available in volume, with predictable lead times and long lifecycle commitments.

• Global adoption requires price/performance balancing. Emerging markets need PNT reliability but cannot bear aerospace-grade costs. Scalable, rugged MEMS solutions fill this gap.

• Autonomy ROI depends on continuity. If a machine can maintain guidance through GNSS disruptions, it can operate longer hours and at higher speeds, improving economics for both OEMs and end-users.

“Just because you go from a big tractor to a smaller tractor, the conditions don’t change that much,” Galchev said. “If you want to achieve the same mission profile, you still need the same performance level.”

As ADI brings cost-efficient inertial capability into mainstream ag equipment, the performance gap between high-end and mid-tier platforms narrows.

The Road Ahead: Multi-Sensor Fusion and Autonomy

Agriculture is evolving toward heterogeneous fleets: autonomous tractors, robotic harvesters, terrain-following sprayers, orchard drones, and edge-connected implements. All require resilient PNT.

End-of-row autonomy

Low-speed, high-precision maneuvers demand stable attitude estimation. INS ensures smooth transitions even in partial GNSS shadows.

Terrain-following and boom dynamics

Sprayers rely on roll/pitch estimates for boom control. IMU data supports rapid damping of boom oscillation, improving chemical placement, reducing drift, and lowering input costs.

Cooperative ground-air systems

Drones performing scouting missions must integrate with guidance systems on the ground. Consistent inertial performance across platforms enables better data fusion and farm-level coordination.

Resilience as a design requirement

Interference, accidental or intentional, is increasingly common. INS helps maintain continuity of operation when GNSS performance degrades. It stabilizes machine behavior during uncertainty and helps diagnostic systems detect anomalies.

Regulatory evolution

As autonomy expands, functional-safety requirements will increase. INS adds a measurable layer of redundancy and validation, supporting safety cases for next-generation machines.

“We have sensors that we released more than 20 years ago still being produced,” Galchev said, “because our customers’ systems have long lifespans and once something works, it can be very difficult and expensive to re-qualify and swap it out.”

As autonomy accelerates, the next decade of agriculture will be shaped by platforms that assume GNSS variability and engineer around it from day one. That shift elevates inertial from an add-on to a core requirement. ADI, with its long record of sensor innovation and system-level discipline, is positioned to anchor that transition. Their approach: predictable drift behavior, calibration at the silicon level, ruggedized packaging, and tight GNSS-INS fusion, gives OEMs a stable foundation to build autonomy across tractors, implements, drones, and emerging agricultural robots. The path forward is clear: Resilient PNT will define productivity, and ADI’s inertial technology will increasingly sit at the center of the autonomy stack, enabling machines that navigate, adapt and operate with confidence in the real conditions of the farm.

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Interference is one of the most pressing threats to satellite navigation today. It can disrupt critical systems around the world, leading to significant economic losses. The consequences of interference are far-reaching, from mobility and transport disruptions and impacts to air navigation safety, to serious implications in emergency response efforts.

Through its different Navigation programmes, ESA is actively exploring innovative technologies to increase resilience of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS systems.).

At the Paris Air Show, in Le Bourget, representatives of ESA, Leonardo (IT) have signed a contract to research and develop Machine Learning (ML) techniques to steer antenna arrays to block out unwanted signals.

Head of Future Navigation Department at ESA Marco Falcone: “By combining our expertise with Leonardo advanced technologies, we are reinforcing our commitment to resilient, interference-resistant satellite navigation of the future.”

The project will be developed under the umbrella of ESA’s Navigation Innovation Support Programme (NAVISP).

Smarter antenna designs for increased resilience

Conventional antennas catch signals from all directions. A Controlled Reception Pattern Antennas (CRPAs) antenna can focus on signals coming from specific satellites and ignore signals or interference coming from other directions. These types of antennas are used in satellite navigation receivers to block jamming and counterfeit signals. They rely on electronics that control how they adjust their patterns (a concept known as “beamforming”).

Under contract with NAVISP, Leonardo together with ELT Group as subcontractor, will explore the reduction of the distance between the antenna elements to reduce the size and weight of the antenna array, and the use of Machine Learning to determine the best antenna setup and adjust the settings faster. This approach will lead to smaller, smarter and more effective antennas, especially useful in space-limited environments such as aircraft.

The project covers identification of the smarter algorithm for signal blocking, building and testing a real-time receiver demonstrator based on the selected algorithm, and comparing it to conventional larger antennas. The aim is to reach a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4, delivering a lab-tested technology by the end of the project, in two years.

About NAVISP

ESA navigation specialists are supporting cutting-edge European companies in the development of new PNT technologies and services – in support of Europe’s industrial competitiveness, autonomy and leadership. The result is ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme, NAVISP.

NAVISP is looking into all kinds of clever ideas about the future of satellite navigation and positioning, navigation and timing: ways to improve satellite navigation, alternative positioning systems and new navigation services and applications.

For more information, visit the NAVISP webpage.

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Given the continued rise in frequency of s of interference with GNSS signals, the workshop concluded that a broader and more coordinated approach is needed — focusing on four key areas: improved information gathering, stronger prevention and mitigation measures, more effective use of infrastructure and airspace management, and enhanced coordination and preparedness among relevant agencies.

Reported incidents of interference with GNSS signals, known as jamming and spoofing, have been increasing across Eastern Europe and the Middle East in recent years. Similar incidents have been reported in other locations globally. The initial response focused only on containing those GNSS interference incidents.

“GNSS disruptions are evolving in terms of both frequency and complexity. We are no longer just containing GNSS interference — we must build resilience. The evolving nature of the threat demands a dynamic and ambitious action plan,” said Jesper Rasmussen, EASA Flight Standards Director. “Through collaboration with partners in the European Union and IATA and by supporting the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), we are committed to keeping aviation safe, secure, and navigable.”

“The number of global positioning system (GPS) signal loss events increased by 220% between 2021 and 2024 according to IATA’s data from the Global Aviation Data Management Flight Data eXchange (GADM FDX). And with continued geopolitical tensions, it is difficult to see this trend reversing in the near term. IATA and EASA are working together to reinforce the redundancies that are built into the system, to keep flying safe. The next step is for ICAO to move these solutions forward with global alignment on standards, guidance, and reporting. This must command a high priority at the ICAO Assembly later this year. To stay ahead of the threat, aviation must act together and without delay,” said Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President, Operations, Safety, and Security.

Detailed Workshop Outcomes

The workshop concluded that four workstreams are critical:

1. Enhanced Reporting and Monitoring

• Agree on standard radio calls for reporting GNSS interference and standardized notice to airmen (NOTAM) coding, i.e. Q codes.
• Define and implement monitoring and warning procedures, including real-time airspace monitoring.
• Ensure dissemination of information without delays to relevant parties for formal reporting.

2. Prevention and Mitigation

• Tighten controls (including export and licensing restrictions) on jamming devices.
• Support the development of technical solutions to:
  • reduce false terrain warnings;
  • improve situational interference with portable spoofing detectors; and
  • ensure rapid and reliable GPS equipment recovery after signal loss or interference.

3. Infrastructure and Airspace Management

• Maintain a backup for GNSS with a minimum operational network of traditional navigation aids.
• Better utilize military air traffic management (ATM) capabilities, including tactical air navigation networks and real-time airspace GNSS incident monitoring.
• Enhance procedures for airspace contingency and reversion planning so aircraft can navigate safely even if interference occurs.

4. Coordination and Preparedness

• Improve civil-military coordination, including the sharing of GNSS radio frequency interference (RFI) event data.
• Prepare for evolving-threat capabilities, also for drones.

The workshop was held at EASA’s headquarters in Cologne, Germany on 22-23 May and was attended by over 120 experts from the aviation industry, research organizations, government bodies, and international organizations.

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Hexagon today announced the closing of the acquisition of Septentrio NV, a manufacturer of GPS/GNSS positioning technology for autonomy and mission-critical applications.

The acquisition of Septentrio will strengthen Hexagon’s position as the leader in the resilient, assured positioning solutions market and provide customers greater accessibility to high-accuracy and high- performance positioning technology with the SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) optimised platform.

“Combining Hexagon’s extensive positioning portfolio with Septentrio’s innovative GNSS platforms will provide our customers with cutting-edge solutions, enabling autonomy and mission-critical applications for diverse markets,” stated Gordon Dale, President of Hexagon’s Autonomous Solutions division. “This strategic step allows us to push boundaries to deliver technology and products with the lowest SWaP, putting Hexagon at the forefront of the industry.”

The combined portfolios will accelerate the adoption of autonomous systems in existing markets and address the needs of emerging high-growth segments like robotics, UAVs, autonomy and other mission- critical applications.

“We are excited to join Hexagon to leverage our combined strengths and deliver greater value to our customers, employees and stakeholders,” stated Antoon De Proft, CEO of Septentrio. “This will accelerate innovation, and we look forward to the many opportunities ahead.”

Septentrio, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium will continue its business model of supplying state-of-the- art GNSS technology to its large base of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers.

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