On 27 October at Spaceport Norway in Oslo, the European Space Agency (ESA) signed new contracts with three Norwegian companies under ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Program (NAVISP). The projects follow a call for projects via NAVISP funding by the Norwegian Space Agency to support the development of resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions.
Satellite navigation is a victim of its own success. As our society becomes further dependant on this critical infrastructure to perform tasks ranging from critical harbour operations to everyday services, any disruption, particularly deliberate jamming or spoofing, can have significant consequences.
At the Spaceport Norway event, ESA took another step towards strengthening the resilience of satellite navigation infrastructure and services against interference in cooperation with ESA Member State Norway. Three new contracts were signed with Norwegian companies to address GNSS interference simulations, resilient maritime navigation and resilient drone and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations.
“Norway is fully aware of the importance of resilient positioning, navigation and timing, and we are investing accordingly. Earlier this year, the Norwegian government released a socio-economic analysis which estimated that a seven-day loss of satellite-based PNT services could cost the country approximately NOK 3.4 billion (EUR 320 million). More recently, a report from the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment highlighted the importance of PNT for Norway’s total defence. Together, these findings underline why strengthening PNT resilience is a priority for Norway,” says Kristian Svartveit, Senior Advisor Satellite Navigation at the Norwegian Space Agency.
“Norway plays a key role across ESA programmes and brings unique expertise in precise navigation. Resilience is a central element of Norway's approach to PNT, reflected in initiatives such as Jammertest, an annual event that allows participants, including industry supported by NAVISP as well as ESA teams, to assess their technologies against challenging jamming and spoofing attacks. The country also hosts key Galileo infrastructure in Svalbard, Troll and Jan Mayen,” says Rafael Lucas Rodriguez, ESA’s Head of NAVISP.
Access to real-world GNSS interference data
Testnor aims to take the next step in allowing European industry to test and validate resilient navigation technologies. Through NAVISP, the Tromsø-based company will build a library of GNSS interference recordings and RF playbacks for industry use.
The service will be built on GNSS interference recordings, starting with data collected at Jammertest, Norway’s annual open-air GNSS interference exercise coordinated by Testnor and recognised as the world's largest event of its kind.
Conceived as a market-ready service, the Signal Data Library will provide curated datasets capturing authentic jamming and interference scenarios. This will allow companies to perform realistic tests to assess the vulnerabilities of their technologies, validate performance and strengthen overall resilience.
Resilient maritime positioning
Located in Trondheim, Norse Navigation will develop maritime positioning sensors capable of maintaining trusted performance in the presence of GNSS interference and aimed at SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea)-compliant merchant vessels and professional maritime users. This is particularly important for a sector ever affected by interferences as highlighted in a recent report by the Royal Institute of Navigation.
The NAVISP project will help the company further mature its technology by integrating the latest multi-constellation GNSS capabilities, Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) technology, advanced jamming and spoofing detection, controlled degraded-mode operation and bridge-compatible alert mechanisms.
Interference-proof drone navigation
Further south in Sandnes, Rift Dynamics will tackle a similar challenge for low-cost, expendable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating in GNSS-challenged environments.
Supported by Comrod as a subcontractor, this NAVISP project will mature the system through jamming, spoofing trials in the Arctic and aim at achieving 10 minutes of reliable operation in GNSS-denied conditions with a robust recovery when GNSS becomes available again.
About NAVISP
ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP) aims to cultivate European and Canadian industrial capacities while pioneering the advancement of novel positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems. The programme fosters innovation beyond satellite navigation, spearheading the development of products and services to use, back-up, complement or augment existing PNT capabilities.
By mitigating commercial R&D risks and facilitating the development of new products and services, NAVISP enhances global market access for European industry and strengthens national capabilities.
NAVISP was created in 2016 as an optional ESA programme and is supported by 20 states.
For more information about NAVISP: https://navisp.esa.int/
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