Magnetic Navigation System Aims to Counter GPS Jamming Threat

A growing threat to aviation is GPS jamming and spoofing, where satellite signals are blocked or false position information is fed to aircraft, sending them off course. Researchers have developed a way to navigate despite this interference by reading tiny variations in Earth's magnetic field and comparing them with mapped magnetic patterns.

Honeywell Aerospace and Australian technology company Q-CTRL are separately developing a system called magnetic navigation using quantum sensors. This approach uses highly sensitive quantum magnetometers to detect the magnetic patterns created by rocks in Earth's crust, which are then matched with stored maps to help determine an aircraft's position without GPS.

The threat of GPS jamming and spoofing has grown sharply, with a 220% increase in GPS signal-loss events between 2021 and 2024 recorded by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have warned that disruptions are becoming more frequent and complex.

The new technology offers a way to work around this problem. Sensitive instruments detect the magnetic patterns, which software compares with stored maps to help locate the aircraft. The approach helps determine an aircraft's position with surprising accuracy, potentially providing corrections without GPS.