Tag: Roke

  • Roke launches low-cost anti-jam system for contested environments

    Roke launches low-cost anti-jam system for contested environments

    Roke has launched Nav-Sync Armour, a controlled reception pattern antenna (CRPA) system enabling resilient GNSS navigation in globally contested environments. In Ukraine, the Baltics and the Middle East, ships, aircraft and critical infrastructure are regularly disrupted by low-cost, ground-based interference that degrades or denies navigation.

    Nav-Sync Armour is designed to counter such jamming threats and support the growth of autonomous platforms. It is a multi-element CRPA that actively protects GNSS signals in contested environments.

    Unlike conventional antennas, which receive signals uniformly from all directions, Nav-Sync Armour uses multiple receiver channels and advanced digital processing to distinguish between genuine satellite signals and interference. Meaning it suppresses jamming sources in real time while maintaining the integrity of authentic signals.

    The system can mitigate multiple concurrent in-band jammers across L1 or L2 frequencies, delivering a stable and trusted GNSS output that enables continued operation under active interference, the company said.

    “CRPAs have long been the gold standard for resilient navigation, but not always a cost-effective offering for some platforms,” explained Marc Overton, managing director, Roke. “As a result, a large proportion of assets have been left either exposed to attack or reliant on solutions that struggle to perform in contested environments. For decades, effective GNSS protection has been concentrated on high-cost platforms, with many systems operating without meaningful resilience. Nav-Sync Armour addresses that imbalance by delivering the performance of high-end CRPA systems in a compact, low-SWaP solution that is affordable for all platforms.”

    Mission success increasingly depends on autonomy. These air, maritime or ground platforms require the persistence and scale that modern operations demand, yet they are often the least protected. Nav-Sync Armour enables resilient navigation where it has previously been impractical or unaffordable.

    In today’s battlespace, resilience means ensuring enough systems can continue to operate to deliver mission success, Roke said.

    Nav-Sync Armour shifts the balance back in favour of the platform, removing traditional barriers of cost, complexity and restriction to make high-performance protection available at the scale modern operations require.

    Designed as a direct replacement for existing GNSS antennas, Nav-Sync Armour connects directly to existing GNSS receivers via standard RF interfaces, simplifying integration and retrofit. It provides a straightforward route to upgrading resilience without significant platform redesign.

    Its compact form factor and low power consumption make it suitable for a wide range of installations, while its UK sovereign design ensures it is free from ITAR constraints, reducing supply chain friction and enabling broader adoption.  Roke has worked with other UK partners to create an onshore supply chain capable of manufacturing in the thousands.

  • Team Elaris wins £6M eLoran contract

    Team Elaris wins £6M eLoran contract

    QinetiQ-led Team Elaris has been awarded a £6 million contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to develop a deployable solution concept for enhanced long-range navigation (eLoran).

    Work completed under the two-year Urgent Compass program will be used to inform future demonstration, production and deployment packages of work.

    The UK and its allies rely heavily on position, navigation and timing (PNT) for effective military operations. PNT solutions traditionally use GNSS signals, but these can be jammed or spoofed by adversaries in battlefield environments. A jammed or spoofed satellite navigation signal, if undetected or uncorrected, can result in misdirected troop movements or incorrectly guided missile trajectories, leading to mission failure in the battlefield arena.

    Militaries are increasingly looking for alternative, more resilient PNT solutions to enhance and complement traditional GNSS, such as eLoran which is a terrestrially based alternative and can operate when access to satellite PNT is denied. This program extends QinetiQ’s engagement with MOD on assured PNT solutions, which includes the Robust Global Navigation System (RGNS) program — another key component in UK MOD’s approach to resilient PNT.

    Urgent Compass will explore eLoran based solutions that can be quickly deployed into contested locations worldwide.

    Team Elaris is made up of QinetiQ, UrsaNav, Roke and GMV. Each organization brings technical knowledge and domain expertise in PNT technologies to the partnership, which is exploring both deployable and fixed eLoran solutions.