Honeywell Aerospace has introduced Kestrel, an Embedded GNSS/INS navigation solution designed to maintain continuous position, velocity and attitude estimates independent of external signals — a capability the company is positioning directly against the GNSS-degraded environments that have come to define modern contested operations.
Announced June 17, Kestrel integrates Honeywell’s HG3900 MEMS Inertial Measurement Unit with an M-code receiver and a multi-GNSS receiver in a package the company says is 40 percent smaller and lighter than comparable EGI products on the market. The M-code capability provides access to the military GPS signal’s enhanced anti-spoofing and anti-jam protections, while the multi-GNSS receiver broadens the available constellation coverage under nominal conditions. When external signals are unavailable, the INS layer maintains self-contained navigation continuity.
The system is intended primarily for Group 2 and 3 collaborative combat aircraft and loitering munitions, where the combination of SWaP-C constraints and GNSS-denial risk is most acute, though Honeywell notes applicability to crewed platforms with similar constraints. The company claims up to 80 percent improvement in navigation accuracy over legacy systems and cost reductions of up to 50 percent — both figures are company-sourced. Kestrel will be available in non-ITAR configurations for international defense and commercial operators.
“This system helps operators maintain mission objectives in environments where legacy GPS systems are lagging behind,” said Matt Picchetti, vice president and general manager of Navigation & Sensors at Honeywell Aerospace. Honeywell has produced more than 60,000 EGI units since pioneering the technology in the mid-1990s.
