NautelNav has announced its participation in a new concept for a field-deployable eLoran station. This application, when realized, could result in the procurement of a number of operational systems for multiple defence organizations worldwide.
A deployable eLoran station enables quick replacement of PNT (Position, Navigation, and Timing) systems, such as GPS, that may be jammed or spoofed by hostile entities. Temporary, rapidly deployable eLoran systems, each with a collapsible/portable antenna, are much more difficult to jam and can help ensure mission success in a battlefield arena.
Modern military operations depend heavily on GNSS signals for troop movement, weapons guidance, and operational coordination — a dependency that has become a well-documented vulnerability. Adversaries can jam or spoof satellite navigation signals in contested environments, and when that interference goes undetected, the consequences can range from misdirected troop movements to mis-guided munitions.
eLoran has drawn renewed attention as a candidate to fill that gap. As a terrestrial, low-frequency radio navigation system built on the Loran-C lineage, it operates independently of satellite infrastructure and is markedly harder to disrupt than GNSS, since it relies on powerful ground-based transmitters rather than comparatively weak signals arriving from space. That resilience has made it a recurring subject of interest among defence and infrastructure planners looking to diversify away from single-point-of-failure PNT.
The concept NautelNav is supporting fits into that broader effort: a station compact and portable enough to be moved into a contested location on short notice, then torn down and relocated as operational needs shift — a capability distinct from the fixed, high-power Loran-C and eLoran transmitter sites that have historically anchored national PNT infrastructure.
Partnership and Technology
Nautel global partner UrsaNav® is teaming with QinetiQ, Roke, and GMV to develop the concept. At the heart of the demonstration system is a Nautel eLoran transmitter, a data-capable low frequency PNT transmitter. These transmitters are highly efficient, incorporating a patented pulse power recovery technique along with lightweight, hot-swappable, redundant power amplifiers.
“Our 5th and 6th generation solid-state Loran transmitters have successfully performed in operational systems around the world since the mid-1970’s,” said UrsaNav’s CEO, Charles Schue. “Since 2007, we have partnered with NautelNav in delivering 7th generation NL-series transmitters capable of broadcasting existing and advanced signals, waveforms, and modulation techniques. Pairing our provider and user technology with NautelNav’s NL-series transmitters provides the UK with foundational deployable eLoran capability.”
The four-company grouping — operating together as Team Elaris — is working under a UK Ministry of Defence contract awarded earlier this year to develop a deployable eLoran concept as part of the MoD’s Urgent Compass programme. The two-year effort is intended to inform later phases of demonstration, production, and eventual deployment, and extends QinetiQ’s existing engagement with the MoD on assured PNT, which also includes the separate Robust Global Navigation System programme.
The transmitter technology underpinning the demonstration draws on decades of operational history rather than a clean-sheet design. NautelNav’s solid-state Loran transmitters trace their lineage back to the mid-1970s, and the current NL-series line — developed jointly with UrsaNav since 2007 — has already been fielded in fixed eLoran installations in multiple countries.
What distinguishes the deployable concept is packaging: a collapsible, portable antenna paired with a transmitter built for rapid setup and teardown, rather than the large fixed towers associated with legacy Loran-C and eLoran sites. Combined with the hot-swappable, redundant power amplifiers already built into the NL-series design, the approach is meant to let defence users stand up a working PNT alternative in a contested area within a matter of hours rather than the months typically required to commission a fixed station.
If the concept moves forward from demonstration into procurement, the partners anticipate interest from multiple defence organizations beyond the UK, given the shared allied concern over GNSS jamming and spoofing in contested environments.
