SYDNEY — Advanced Navigation in Sydney, Australia, has secured an $18.5 million agreement to supply inertial navigation systems for KONGSBERG’s PROTECTOR counter-drone platforms, which will be delivered to Poland.
Under the agreement, Advanced Navigation will provide hundreds of its Boreas fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) inertial navigation systems (INS). KONGSBERG will integrate the equipment into PROTECTOR counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) manufactured in Norway.
The platforms form part of a separate contract worth approximately 16 billion Norwegian kroner, or $1.74 billion, with the Polish Armaments Agency.
An inertial navigation system uses motion sensors to calculate a platform’s orientation and movement without relying continuously on satellite signals. For a counter-drone station, that information helps keep its sensors and weapons aligned when GPS is jammed, spoofed or unavailable.
Related: DLR opens drone security center for UAS and counter-UAS testing
Navigation equipment supports sensor and weapon alignment
Boreas uses fiber-optic gyroscopes to measure rotation and combines those readings with other sensor data to estimate the platform’s orientation and movement. PROTECTOR brings together sensors, fire-control equipment and weapons to detect, track and engage aerial threats. The inertial navigation system supplies information about the station’s own position and orientation, which the platform can use when aligning its sensors and weapons.
“As electromagnetic warfare becomes a defining feature of modern conflict, precision is no longer determined by arsenals or sensors alone,” said David Leniewski, managing director at Advanced Navigation EMEA. “It depends on knowing exactly where the platform is, how it is moving and maintaining that accuracy even when GPS is denied.”
The agreement follows an earlier deal under which Advanced Navigation supplied its Boreas D90 system for KONGSBERG’s PROTECTOR RS4 platform.
KONGSBERG expands PROTECTOR deliveries
KONGSBERG manufactures PROTECTOR systems for several types of military platforms, including armored vehicles, naval vessels and uncrewed ground vehicles. The company says the counter-drone configuration can support missions ranging from convoy protection to the defense of airfields and coastal assets.
“By integrating Advanced Navigation’s inertial navigation technology into our PROTECTOR C-UAS platforms, we are providing forces with a resilient capability that continues when GPS is denied,” said Jørgen Andreas Bull, senior vice president of land systems at KONGSBERG.
Advanced Navigation says it manufactures and tests its navigation equipment in-house, including environmental testing and simulated electronic-warfare validation. The Australian Department of Defence’s Global Supply Chain Program supports Advanced Navigation’s participation in international defense supply chains.
