TrustPoint, NovAtel demonstrate C-band PNT through GNSS interference
Key Highlights
- The test demonstrated the ability of TrustPoint's C-band signals to be acquired and tracked by NovAtel's receiver during GNSS interference.
- Using signals from different spectrum bands enhances navigation resilience, especially when traditional GNSS signals are disrupted.
- The collaboration is part of a Navy-funded effort to advance resilient navigation technologies for military applications.
WASHINGTON - TrustPoint and Hexagon's NovAtel have demonstrated TrustPoint's C-band positioning, navigation, and timing signals in the presence of GNSS interference, using an enhanced NovAtel receiver as part of a U.S. Navy-funded effort to develop resilient navigation technology.
The demonstration was conducted under a Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contract led by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. TrustPoint says its C-band signals were acquired and tracked by the NovAtel receiver, which used them to generate positioning data while GNSS interference was present.
The demonstration is significant because it combines a new C-band PNT signal source with an established precision-navigation receiver architecture. NovAtel develops high-precision positioning technology for land, sea, and air applications. Adding TrustPoint's C-band capability to that type of receiver could give users access to a navigation signal independent of conventional GNSS signals.
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C-band PNT
TrustPoint's system uses low Earth orbit satellites transmitting PNT signals in C-band. GPS and other conventional GNSS services use signals in different portions of the L-band. Using navigation signals from separate portions of the radio-frequency spectrum can provide another source of PNT data when conventional GNSS signals are disrupted, although the effectiveness of such an approach depends on factors including interference characteristics, signal strength, antenna performance, and receiver implementation.
The companies did not disclose the frequency, bandwidth, or power characteristics of the C-band signal, nor the characteristics or strength of the GNSS interference used during the demonstration. They also did not disclose positioning accuracy achieved during the test.
TrustPoint previously demonstrated live-sky transmission and real-time reception of a C-band PNT signal in 2025. The company is developing a low-Earth-orbit navigation service intended to provide a PNT source independent of GPS and other existing GNSS constellations. In May, SpaceWERX awarded TrustPoint a $4 million Tactical Funding Increase to demonstrate an end-to-end GPS-independent PNT system using four satellites and four ground stations.
