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.
Safran Electronics & Defense and QinetiQ have entered a strategic partnership to deliver sovereign and resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions for the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. The collaboration addresses today’s urgent need for trusted PNT capabilities in increasingly challenging and GNSS-denied operational environments.
By integrating QinetiQ’s Q40 GNSS receiver with Safran’s SecureSync time server, the partnership offers advanced protection against jamming, spoofing and other adversarial electronic warfare threats. The joint solution supports multi-signal reception and delivers reliable, coherent synchronization for mission-critical military operations — from strategic headquarters to frontline forces.
The SecureSync time server. (Photo: Safran)
This next-generation, sovereign capability strengthens the UK’s operational advantage, ensuring continuous access to secure timing and navigation, even under electronic attack. The solution is designed to adapt and expand, accommodating future threats and supporting the full spectrum of defence operations.
“The Q40 provides navigational assurance in environments where jamming, spoofing and electronic attacks are ever-present,” said James Willis, chief executive UK Intelligence, QinetiQ. “By pairing it with Safran’s SecureSync, we are giving UK forces a trusted, sovereign solution that ensures precise timing and navigation data remains available when it matters most.”
The Q40 GNSS receiver. (Photo: Qinetiq)
“In the current context of evolving threats and contested environments, guaranteeing sovereignty in navigation and timing is more critical than ever for national defence,” added Maxime Gorlier, director of PNT Business Unit for Safran Electronics & Defense. “This partnership enables UK armed forces to maintain full independence and sovereignty, even when facing sophisticated electronic warfare tactics. Together, we are committed to providing future-proof PNT solutions that strengthen the UK’s resilience and strategic autonomy.”
The partnership leverages both companies’ sustained investment in customer-focused research, development and innovation, and demonstrates their shared commitment to providing robust, secure and resilient PNT solutions.
Among them was a funding increase for the National Physical Laboratory’s National Time Centre (NTC) project, from £30 million to £62.7 million, and a plan to have NTC and the first of the nation’s new eLoran towers at initial operating capability by January of 2027.
Plans for all efforts beyond next year were necessarily caveated with “subject to spending review.”
Still, seminar attendees were gratified to hear the minister endorse the ten-point PNT policy framework published by the previous administration in 2023. It was particularly encouraging that he also committed to operationalizing it with implemented systems.
The minister did not mention the UK’s significant investment in quantum research, which was discussed later in the seminar. This research has the potential to contribute to PNT with better timekeeping and inertial and gravimetric sensing. Three quantum hubs — one each in Scotland, the Midlands and the South — are part of this effort.
Lord Vallance, UK Science Minister. (Image: 10 Dowing Street)
Lord Vallance and Shabana Haque, Ph.D., the head of the National PNT Office, who spoke later, also mentioned two important non-technology themes.
The first theme was that the PNT office is fully funded, staffed and very active. It was created last year as a cross-government effort and included representation from the Ministry of Defence. In addition to pushing the nation’s PNT efforts forward, the office has been engaged with numerous other governments, including those of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and Korea.
Secondly, the PNT initiatives are necessary for the nation’s resilience and security but will also be a source of economic benefits. This goes beyond PNT resilience, enabling Britain’s economy to function during local and potentially widespread GNSS disruption events. As the nation develops the technology stack to support its own resilient PNT architecture, along with enabling and supporting policies, devices and services will become marketable to others.
Shabana Haque, Ph.D., head of the UK PNT Office, spoke to the RIN at its 2024 UK PNT Leadership Seminar. (Image: RIN)
A sovereign PNT capability that can both stand independently and cooperate with GNSS is becoming increasingly attractive to many nations. Being able to source such a capability from a respected and trusted ally such as Great Britain could make acquiring and implementing such a system much easier for many.
The UK government has been working with several partners to advance its understanding and planning implementation of an eLoran capability. Haque highlighted work with the ESA’s F)!NAVISP program, resulting in the UK’s Roke developing an eLoran antenna for handheld devices. She also discussed the integration of the National Timing Centre’s clock and fiber network with eLoran signals and the development of GNSS/eLoran receivers. Of particular interest to many was an “eLoran Effectiveness Report” that the government commissioned and received from the General Lighthouse Authority’s Research and Development (GRAD) team. GRAD has had extensive experience with the technology, having operated and evaluated a differential eLoran system along Britain’s east coast for more than a year.
In a related move that helped signal the UK’s commitment to the technology, the Ministry of Defence issued a request for information (RFI) about a deployable eLoran capability in September. The RFI indicated that the document was a prelude to an acquisition.
The UK Science Minister also praised the RIN’s work and publication of a series of tools to help explain PNT and the need for resilience to those outside the community. The tools will also help organizations evaluate their readiness for GNSS disruptions.
A PNT Resilience Checklist for organizations to use to self-evaluate their risk from GNSS disruptions.
The RIN recommends that PNT experts use these tools to work with customers, suppliers and partners and act as a “guiding hand.”
The RIN sees these all as a “phase 1 release.” Feedback on the tools is encouraged and should be sent to [email protected] The RIN team say they are eager to know what works, what could be improved, and to receive suggestions for other efforts.
As a “learned society,” the RIN has a significant influence on government policy and direction. Lord Vallance recognized this, saying that “the Royal Institute has played a really important role in recent years to highlight the PNT opportunity and risk, to provide expertise, and to work with government on solutions.”
The RIN’s director, John Pottle, and RIN Fellows Ramsey Faragher, Guy Buesnel and Andy Proctor were all recognized during the seminar for their contributions to the organization’s resilient PNT efforts.
Commercial eLoran to be offered in the UK
Hellen Systems, Inc. and Arqiva have partnered to develop a commercial eLoran service in the United Kingdom. The announcement was made on the Hellen Systems LinkedIn page.
The partners seek to support critical national infrastructure, government, and military users by citing the need for “sovereign, independent, resilient” PNT alternatives.
eLoran is deployed and operating across China and South Korea. Older versions of Loran are operating in Russia and Saudi Arabia. Yet, aside from a single transmitter in the UK being used as a timing signal, operating Loran systems have been off the air in the West since the European system shut down in deference to Galileo in 2016.
In recent years, increasing interference with GNSS signals has rekindled Western interest in the technology. The European Space Agency (ESA) recently sponsored a project that produced an eLoran antenna suitable for mobile devices. Three transmitters are on-air in the U.S., presumably for testing, and the UK Ministry of Defence has issued a request for information, which is expected to lead to the purchase of a deployable eLoran system (the U.S. Air Force operated a deployable capability called Loran-D in the 1970s).
Originally developed and used in World War II, some still view Loran as old technology. Its advocates counter that today’s telephones and televisions are vastly improved over 1940s technology, and the same is true for eLoran over its older Loran-A and Loran-C versions.
A high-power terrestrial system operating at 100kHz, UK demonstrations with differential eLoran in 2014 showed an accuracy of 10 m positioning and 50 ns timing. The positioning accuracy for the previous version of Loran, Loran-C, was approximately 460 m absolute accuracy, 90 m repeatable accuracy and 5 µs.
Hellen Systems’ President, Bridge Littleton, says the partnership is “… excited to bring commercial eLoran to the UK as a unique resilient PNT capability” and cites its advantages as a secure signal able to penetrate deep indoors without the need for an external antenna. The UK frequency regulator, Ofcom, proposed offering commercial eLoran licenses in 2022 and began the process in 2023. Hellen was granted a UK spectrum license for eLoran earlier this year.
The announcement also lists Microchip, Chronos Technology, Ltd, Continental Electronics, and CGI as team members in the project.
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) is focusing its alternative positioning, navigation and timing (Alt PNT) project on deployable eLoran. This comes after industry days for Alt PNT in March and June 2024.
The announcement came in a Request for Information (RFI) on Sept. 20. It specifies that a contract will be let for the development of a deployable eLoran network. As part of that contract, the MOD also wants to develop:
A modelling capability, which will allow for theoretical analysis of capabilities and informing the concept of employment.
An assured capability within the Loran Data Channel
Information and demonstration of the resulting capability to stakeholders
UK PNT Policy Framework
Last year, the UK government announced a ten-point “policy framework” for advancing the nation’s PNT resilience. One of the ten points is:
“Develop a proposal for a resilient, terrestrial, and sovereign Enhanced Long-Range Navigation (eLORAN) system to provide backup position and navigation.”
Most have seen this as a provision for a fixed domestic system for use by critical infrastructure and applications. The UK already has an on-air single eLoran transmitter that provides a timing signal. An announcement about establishing two or more additional transmitters to provide PNT services for the British Isles and their adjacent waters has been anticipated.
The policy framework also includes:
“Develop a proposal for ‘MOD Time’ creating deeper resilience through a system of last resort and use NTC-provided timing to support MOD.” [NTC stands for National Timing Centre.]
It is not immediately clear how this RFI from the MOD fits these two provisions, if at all, or is entirely separate.
1970s Deployable Loran
Deployable Loran, or Loran-D was first developed for the U.S. Air Force in the 1970’s. An oral history recounts that a system was deployed early in the 70’s by the 6514th Test Squadron at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR), a component of Hill Air Force Base. It was built by Megapulse, employed a Hewlett Packard beam clock and 150 ft antennas, and was used for testing unmanned aircraft. There are also indications elsewhere that the Air Force used it for precision bombing.
Industry sources say that this earlier work provides a solid foundation for developing future deployable eLoran systems.
UK MOD Requirements
The RFI is fairly specific about the questions it wants answered. These requirements look nearly ready to be transformed into a Request for Proposal and contract language. They include:
The demonstrator system shall include a minimum of 3 transmitters to enable a suitable receiver to live demonstrate position and time determination from the system.
Across the coverage area, the system shall transmit a signal that allows receivers to achieve position and timing accuracy in line with the needs of defense platforms (which have not yet been specified).
The system shall be able to operate with and without GNSS access.
The system shall be able to operate both with and without access to eLoran signals from eLoran transmitters outside the deployable system’s group.
The system shall be capable of maintaining performance & accuracy for prolonged periods, including without access to eLoran and GNSS signals.
The system shall be able to be contained and transported in an ISO container.
The system shall be able to be assembled, initialized and disassembled by as small a team as possible.
Respondents must submit by the 18th of October to be considered.
The UK Ministry of Defence will construct a new anti-jamming test facility at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. This facility is designed to safeguard military equipment from threats posed by GPS jamming. A £20 million ($26 million) contract has been awarded to the defense technology firm QinetiQ, which will create one of Europe’s largest anechoic chambers, set to be operational by 2026.
This facility, referred to as a “silent hangar,” will accommodate large military assets such as Protector UAVs, Chinook helicopters and F-35 fighter jets, allowing for comprehensive testing against electronic warfare threats. Maria Eagle, the minister for defense procurement and industry, said that this facility will help eliminate vulnerabilities in military systems, thereby enhancing national security and better protecting armed forces during global deployments.
The hangar will be engineered to minimize radio-frequency wave leakage, ensuring that testing does not interfere with local emergency services and air traffic control. Additionally, according to the UK Ministry of Defence, the project is expected to generate 20 new jobs in the Boscombe Down area and will support broader applications beyond defense, benefiting various sectors of government and industry.
QinetiQ and its partner Collins Aerospace have won a £67 million contract with the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) to develop multi-constellation satellite receivers under the U.K. Robust Global Navigation System (R-GNS) program.
The program will deliver critical capability to provide UK Defence with accurate and resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), which will underpin the UK’s ability to undertake 24/7 military operations around the world in demanding and increasingly contested operational environments.
QinetiQ, working with its partner (Collins Aerospace) and sub-contractors (Roke Manor Research, Raytheon Systems Limited, Garfield Microelectronics, Nottingham Scientific Limited, Phixos and a number of other specialist suppliers and manufacturing partners) will work together to provide advanced navigation products that are UK sovereign supplied, low size, weight and power (SWAP) delivering high-accuracy, resilient and secured operational capability.
The use of multi-constellation, multi-service satellite navigation signals, multiple sensors and QinetiQ’s advanced processing technologies will enable secured navigation, ensuring that users and platforms —autonomous land, maritime, air and weapons systems — will be able to navigate accurately, robustly and safely.
“Whether it’s soldiers conducting operations in remote environments or fighter jet pilots flying in contested airspace, our Armed Forces depend on satellite navigation technology,” said Defence Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan. “These state-of-the-art receivers will help to ensure our armed forces can defend UK interests wherever and whenever they are threatened.”
“Ensuring that UK Forces have the best and most resilient secured navigation capabilities is essential to ensuring that they are able to operate effectively in increasingly challenging operational environments,” Steve Wadey, CEO, QinetiQ said. “We are extremely pleased to be working with MOD, DE&S and DSTL to deliver this critical capability. This programme will exploit QinetiQ’s advanced technologies and, working collaboratively with our partners across the supply base, deliver substantial operational advantage for UK Defence.”
The delivery date for the first R-GNS products is February 2022.
Raytheon UK has been awarded a significant contract by the UK Ministry of Defence for delivery of a new GPS anti-jam antenna land system. The contract is for an undisclosed number of advanced systems for deployment in operational theaters spanning multiple vehicle platforms. This UOR (Urgent Operational Requirement) contract is the first award for Raytheon’s GPS Anti-Jam (AJ) Land product family.
“Raytheon UK has a track record of on-time delivery for GPS AJ systems, having delivered over 7,000 units for air and naval capabilities in the UK and U.S., said Bob Delorge, chief executive, Raytheon UK. “Many of the military platforms used in operations are protected by the proven Raytheon GPS anti-jam technology, and the first order for our Land GPS AJ product family marks a significant success.”
The contract will see the deployment of the systems under a very short timescale, with final delivery of the capability expected to be completed six months from contract award.
Raytheon UK is a subsidiary of Raytheon Company. It is a prime contractor and major supplier to the UK Ministry of Defence. Raytheon UK also designs, develops and manufactures a range of high-technology electronic systems and software at facilities in Harlow, Glenrothes, Uxbridge, Waddington and Broughton.
