BAE navigation system identifies suspicious signals

BAE Systems is developing the technology as a back-up to GPS and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that doesn’t need the internet to locate itself in the way smartphones do and could even help navigate within buildings.

The relatively low cost of the system means individual soldiers or small autonomous vehicles could use it to stop their GPS from being blocked by tall buildings or enemy jamming technology, while firefighters could use it to find their way around smoke-filled buildings.

But it could also help reduce the vulnerability of sectors such as aviation, shipping and telecoms to GPS disruptions. A recent European Commission report found that €800bn (£638bn) worth of economic activity in Europe depended on satellite navigation.

‘Because we’ve become so dependent on GPS, it’s important to have these back-ups to get you through periods of loss,’ said Dr Ramsey Faragher, principal scientist at BAE’s Advanced Technology Centre, who is leading the project.