The single-feed stacked patch design supports simultaneous L1 and L5 reception without the complexity of multi-feed architectures. Dual-band operation reduces multipath interference, improving positioning reliability in complex RF environments. The antenna achieves peak gain of up to 1.5 dBi, approximately 50 percent efficiency across both bands, and an axial ratio of around 4 dB, providing stable right-hand circular polarization and consistent positioning performance. It is optimized for GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and BeiDou.

Two variants are available. The passive GVLB208.A uses a pin-mount configuration compatible with standard PCB designs, with optimal performance on a 70 x 70 mm ground plane. The active AGVLB208.A adds onboard electronics and filtering and ships with a 1.13 mm micro-coax cable and I-PEX MHF I connector for direct integration with current multiband GNSS modules.

Target applications include UAVs, autonomous delivery robots, telematics, and fleet management — use cases where high-precision positioning is required but form factor constraints limit antenna options.

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The P8 sits at the top of the G5 tier structure, distinguished by Septentrio’s AIM+ Ultimate interference mitigation — a step above the AIM+ Premium protection on the P6 released at XPONENTIAL earlier this month. Beyond interference rejection, the module delivers situational awareness data combining spoofing indicators with power and frequency information that operators can use to help localize jamming sources.

The design also emphasizes integrity: the module is built to ensure truthful positioning and reporting, with automatic sensor switching during GNSS disruptions in heavily compromised environments. Secure communication with input and output authentication guards against unauthorized access and data interception.

The P8 shares the G5 family’s 23 x 16 mm footprint and 2.2-gram weight. It supports open-source autopilots PX4 and ArduPilot for drone integration, and an evaluation kit with direct autopilot connections is available through Septentrio’s RxTools interface. Septentrio began volume shipments of the broader G5 line last October.

Septentrio, part of Hexagon, is demonstrating the mosaic-G5 P8 at SOF Week in Tampa this week, booth 609.

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Iridium is an existing owner of Aireon and will acquire the remaining 61% of equity interests for a purchase price of approximately $366.7 million from NAV CANADA, AirNav Ireland, ENAV, NATS, and Naviair. 

The purchase price will be paid in two equal installments, half at closing and the remainder one year later. Iridium will also assume approximately $155 million of Aireon debt as part of the transaction. The deal is targeted to close in early July. 

The Aireon system, certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, currently tracks an average of 190,000 flights per day with 100% global coverage, with ANSPs covering more than 50% of global airspace relying on Aireon data. The system captures ADS-B signals broadcasting aircraft identity, position, altitude, speed, and heading in real time. 

Taking over Aireon would give Iridium full control of a business that includes GPS jamming and spoofing detection, alongside real-time and historical flight data. Iridium also boasts PNT capabilities designed to keep GPS-dependent systems functioning in contested environments, and its value-added manufacturers in aviation are already exploring ways to bring an additional layer of safety to the flight deck by using Iridium PNT in avionics to complement and protect GPS.

Iridium frames the acquisition as a defining step in its strategy to provide the foundational architecture for global aviation safety, consolidating space-based surveillance, safety communications, PNT, and operational data onto a single network. Among the next steps Iridium has indicated is the future introduction of space-based VHF communications. A space-based VHF initiative, aimed at relieving VHF congestion using satellite links, had been a project Iridium and Aireon had each been pursuing on parallel tracks. 

Iridium expects Aireon to add at least $100 million of consolidated annual service revenue and $30 million of OEBITDA. Aireon’s total revenue grew at a 10% compound annual growth rate over the past three years. The transaction also extends commercial partnerships with NAV CANADA and NATS through 2035 and beyond. 

Aireon will continue business-as-usual operations in the near term, with no planned changes to business strategy. 

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The module measures 23 mm by 16 mm and weighs 2.2 grams, continuing the mosaic family’s SWaP-constrained design philosophy. In addition to high-accuracy positioning, the module provides heading and pitch or heading and roll angles, suited to autonomous navigation applications. 

Single or dual antenna configurations are supported for GNSS heading, enabling orientation and motion control in autonomous machinery, robotics, and precision guidance systems. Users can tune the balance between accuracy and signal availability, and the module supports Galileo High Accuracy Service out of the box, providing decimeter-level positioning without additional configuration. 

On the resilience side, the mosaic-G5 P6 includes AIM+ Premium functionality with enhanced jamming and spoofing protection, offering narrow and wideband resilience and OSNMA authentication in demanding RF environments. 

The module is compatible with open-source autopilots PX4 and ArduPilot, as well as ROS, for integration into robotic and drone systems. The mosaic-go G5 P6 evaluation kit supports testing with direct autopilot connections, and the free RxTools user interface assists with setup and evaluation. 

“By extending the mosaic family with mosaic-G5 P6, we are bringing an all-in-one module offering accuracy, resilience, and flexibility for demanding industrial applications,” said Yasmine Hunter, product manager at Septentrio.

Septentrio is exhibiting at XPONENTIAL in Detroit through May 14 at booth #37030.

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Unveiled April 16, the receiver integrates a dual-constellation GNSS processor handling military satellite signals alongside Galileo Public Regulated Service and civilian GPS, an adaptive Controlled Radiation Pattern Antenna for anti-jamming, and a high-performance clock for timing holdover. Thales describes it as the most compact solution of its type currently on the market.

The CRPA enables the receiver to operate up to 30 times closer to a jamming source than a conventional GPS unit — a capability Thales says provides a decisive advantage in environments where jamming systems are now fielded routinely rather than by specialist units alone. The onboard clock sustains tactical radio synchronization for up to 48 hours following GNSS signal loss, compared with roughly 30 minutes in conventional equipment.

The system is assembled at Thales’s facility in Valence, France, and is available for testing in operational conditions. It falls within the company’s OMEGA-backed production ramp — a €55 million investment across Valence and Châtellerault announced last year, with mass production of TopStar-M receivers and TopShield anti-jamming systems slated to begin at Valence this year.

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The two-year effort falls under the Urgent Compass programme.

Team Elaris comprises QinetiQ, UrsaNav, Roke, and GMV — bringing together U.S. and European PNT expertise across deployable and fixed eLoran architectures. Work completed under the programme will inform future demonstration, production, and deployment packages. The contract extends QinetiQ’s existing engagement with the MoD on assured PNT, which also includes the Robust Global Navigation System programme — a separate component of the UK’s broader resilient PNT strategy.

The MoD framed the award around the growing threat of GNSS jamming and spoofing in battlefield environments, noting that a compromised satellite navigation signal can result in misdirected troop movements or incorrectly guided munitions. Urgent Compass is specifically designed to explore eLoran solutions that can be rapidly deployed to contested locations worldwide.

eLoran — a modernized, high-accuracy evolution of the Cold War-era Loran-C system — operates on low-frequency terrestrial signals that are significantly more difficult to jam or spoof than GNSS, and can provide independent timing and positioning when satellite access is denied or degraded.

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As autonomous platforms push deeper into GPS-contested and GPS-denied environments, assured positioning, navigation, and timing has become a load-bearing requirement across every domain represented at the show. This year’s Defense Technologies Zone — more than 10,000 square feet of military-focused exhibits across air, land, and sea — and the Michigan Defense Exposition hosted by the NDIA Michigan Chapter bring together the program managers, platform developers, and PNT technology providers working to solve navigation resilience at operational scale.

Inside GNSS is a multiple Neal Award finalist and the leading American publication covering the policy, engineering, and technology of global navigation satellite systems. Our editors will be reporting from Detroit throughout the week. Follow coverage at insidegnss.com for news and analysis at the intersection of autonomy and positioning technology.

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Inertial Sense will be integrated into Hexagon’s Aerospace & Defence Division, where its compact, tactical-grade solutions are intended to extend the company’s resilient navigation capabilities in GPS-challenged environments. The acquisition targets growth in autonomy, aerospace, and defence markets.

“Inertial Sense brings exceptional GNSS+INS innovation that advances our assured PNT roadmap and expands resilient positioning capabilities in GPS-challenged environments,” said Stig Pedersen, President of Hexagon’s Aerospace & Defence Division.

Walt Johnson, CTO and founder of Inertial Sense, said the company looks forward to expanding access to lightweight, affordable, and precise navigation solutions through the Hexagon platform.

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GNSS interference is named alongside long-range weapons systems, counter-UAS, and advanced air defense technologies as risks that international law alone has proven insufficient to address.

ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar made the assessment at the opening of the 2026 World Overflight Risk Conference in Valletta, Malta, telling delegates that emerging military capabilities are creating an environment where civilian aircraft face heightened risk of being targeted or caught in crossfire. “We must now reach beyond the boundaries of aviation as we have known it,” Salazar said.

Salazar pointed to the recent Middle East crisis as both a demonstration of the aviation industry’s adaptability and evidence of the limits of operational workarounds. More than ten states partially or fully closed their airspace during the escalation, and while ICAO’s regional contingency frameworks helped coordinate rerouting, the Secretary General characterized these measures as costly and temporary rather than solutions to the underlying security threats.

The organization is pressing states to take three immediate steps: share threat intelligence rapidly when activities pose risks to civilian aircraft, strengthen risk assessment mechanisms and decision-making timelines, and improve coordination between military and civilian authorities to prevent misidentification. ICAO is also finalizing a Global Crisis Management Framework and updating its Manual Concerning Safety Measures relating to Military Activities and its Risk Assessment Manual for Civil Aircraft Operations Over or Near Conflict Zones.

Salazar grounded the legal case in ICAO Assembly Resolution A42-4 and Article 3 bis of the Chicago Convention, which explicitly prohibits the use of weapons against civilian aircraft, while acknowledging that the framework has not kept pace with regional conflict.

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The functionality will be available as a software option for the R&S SMBV100B and R&S SMW200A vector signal generators, giving device manufacturers a production-ready pathway to test and validate receiver compatibility with Pulsar signals ahead of the constellation’s commercial deployment.

Pulsar is designed to complement existing GNSS infrastructure — including GPS — by leveraging LEO orbital geometry to deliver stronger signals, improved accuracy, and enhanced resilience against jamming and spoofing. Where legacy GNSS constellations operate in medium Earth orbit at altitudes above 20,000 kilometers, LEO satellites orbit at roughly 500 to 2,000 kilometers, resulting in significantly stronger received signal power and reduced signal travel time. The tradeoff is that individual satellites pass overhead quickly, requiring a larger constellation to maintain continuous coverage — which Xona is building toward commercial scale.

The practical challenge Rohde & Schwarz is addressing is the test gap that precedes a new signal type’s deployment. Before device manufacturers can build and certify receivers that support Pulsar, they need the ability to simulate Pulsar signals in a lab environment — verifying receiver performance against known signal parameters without requiring an operational constellation overhead. Adding that simulation capability to established signal generator hardware provides an accessible, production-scalable route for validation.

“Navigation technology is entering a period of rapid evolution,” said Matt Hammond, North America Satellite Technology Manager at Rohde & Schwarz. “By adding Pulsar signal simulation to our signal generator portfolio, Rohde & Schwarz is preparing our customers for the next evolution of satellite navigation.”

“Test and measurement solutions play an important role in enabling device manufacturers to evaluate compatibility as new signals become available,” said Bryan Chan, co-founder and VP of Strategy at Xona Space Systems. “Rohde & Schwarz brings deep expertise in precision signal generation that helps make this possible.”

The R&S SMBV100B and R&S SMW200A will join Pulsar’s verified ecosystem program, which recognizes devices and test solutions validated for compatibility with Pulsar signals. Rohde & Schwarz showcased its navigation test solutions at Space Symposium 2026 in Colorado Springs this week.

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