Hundreds of inertial navigation units built to keep working when satellite signals are jammed or spoofed are to be fitted to counter-drone weapon stations bound for Poland, under an agreement worth $18.5 million, according to Advanced Navigation.
The company will supply its Boreas fibre-optic gyroscope inertial navigation systems to Kongsberg for integration into PROTECTOR counter-uncrewed air system platforms. The Norwegian-built turrets are going to the Polish Armaments Agency as part of a deal worth 16 billion Norwegian kroner, or around $1.74 billion.
Inertial navigation works by measuring a platform’s own motion rather than listening for a signal from space, which is why it keeps giving a position when GPS does not. The systems provide positioning, orientation and heading, letting a counter-drone station detect, track and engage an air threat when satellite navigation cannot be trusted.
David Leniewski, managing director of Advanced Navigation for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “As electromagnetic warfare becomes a defining feature of modern conflict, precision is no longer determined by arsenals or sensors alone. It depends on knowing exactly where the platform is, how it is moving and maintaining that accuracy even when GPS is denied. That’s where Boreas becomes mission-critical.
“By providing a resilient source of positioning, orientation and stabilisation independent of satellite navigation, Boreas enables PROTECTOR to maintain accurate sensor alignment and target engagement under conditions that would degrade conventional navigation systems. It ensures operators retain confidence in every engagement, even in the most heavily contested electromagnetic environments.
“Together, PROTECTOR and Boreas deliver a layered C-UAS capability that is both economically sustainable and operationally resilient. One provides the proven kinetic effect; the other ensures that effect can still be delivered when the battlespace is actively trying to deny it.”
The company sets the agreement against two problems it says modern conflict has exposed. The first is economic, since defending against thousands of cheap attack drones cannot be sustained when each interceptor costs millions. The second is electromagnetic, with jamming and spoofing now commonplace and degrading any system that relies on satellites to initialise, stabilise and engage.
Jørgen Andreas Bull, senior vice president for land systems at Kongsberg, said: “Modern threats do not observe fixed boundaries, and countering them requires a fundamental evolution in platform survivability.
“By integrating Advanced Navigation’s inertial navigation technology into our PROTECTOR C-UAS platforms, we are providing forces with a resilient capability that continues when GPS is denied. Whether protecting tactical land convoys from asymmetric attack, safeguarding critical airfields, or defending coastal naval assets against uncrewed swarms, this partnership delivers the reliable, multi-spectrum resilience modern forces demand.”
The two firms have worked together before, with an earlier multi-million dollar deal putting the Boreas D90 onto the PROTECTOR RS4 remote weapon station. Kongsberg PROTECTOR systems carrying Advanced Navigation equipment are already deployed on infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, naval vessels and uncrewed ground vehicles.
Mr Leniewski also made a claim about delivery that speaks to the state of the European market. “Unlike legacy PNT suppliers burdened by years-long lead times, Advanced Navigation’s vertically integrated production facilities enable full internal component sourcing, environmental stress-testing, and simulated EW validation prior to delivery,” he said. “This streamlined capability ensures rapid, high-volume production and delivery timelines as European defense ministries work to fulfil urgent procurement schedules.”
The agreement is supported by the Australian Department of Defence’s Global Supply Chain programme, which exists to get Australian firms into the supply chains of international primes.
Quite amazing kit especially when being jolted around in off road vehicles. Could survey an area pre hostilities and know where you would place your vehicles.