Honeywell has launched Kestrel, a compact navigation solution designed to help uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) operate reliably in contested environments where GPS signals may be degraded, jammed or spoofed.
Built to support the growing demand for smaller, more affordable and highly efficient platforms, Kestrel combines Honeywell Aerospace’s HG3900 MEMS inertial measurement unit with an M-code receiver and a multi-GNSS receiver. The platform is intended to meet the specific needs of Group 2 and 3 collaborative combat aircraft and loitering munitions platforms. It is also suitable for crewed aircraft where size, weight, power and cost are important considerations.
“Kestrel reflects the evolving needs of today’s uncrewed operations, where operators are looking for resilient navigation technology that is smaller, lighter and more cost-effective,” said Matt Picchetti, vice president and general manager of Navigation & Sensors at Honeywell Aerospace. “This system helps operators maintain mission objectives in environments where legacy GPS systems are lagging behind.”
Kestrel is an Embedded GNSS/INS (EGI) system for global defense and commercial operators in need of advanced inertial navigation technology with secure positioning capabilities in a smaller footprint. The system is 40 percent smaller and lighter than similar navigation products while delivering up to an 80 percent improvement in navigation accuracy for uncrewed platforms. It also reduces costs by as much as 50 percent, helping operators efficiently scale deployment across high-volume drone operations. Kestrel’s resiliency reduces UAS attrition by 60 percent, while more than doubling the capacity for mission distances.
The ability to operate without assured GNSS access is a distinct advantage for any military aircraft operating in contested or GNSS-denied environments because it provides continuous, self-contained position, velocity and attitude estimates independent of external signals.
Kestrel is designed to support a broad range of defense and commercial applications and will be available in configurations that support international and non-ITAR deployments.
Honeywell pioneered EGI technology and has produced more than 60,000 units since the mid-1990s to meet customers’ most challenging navigation, pointing, stabilization and flight-control applications.
