PNT X Simulation System

Navigation warfare, or NAVWAR for short, is a subset of electronic warfare that refers to attempts to disrupt the navigation capabilities of enemy forces. Primarily consisting of jamming and spoofing attacks, NAVWAR has become a key battleground in recent years. Equally as importantly, its proliferation is having a significant impact on commercial and civilian operations around the world. In this eBook, Spirent looks at some of the key considerations for enhancing NAVWAR robustness and winning in the NAVWAR space. This includes the technologies and techniques available, but primarily looks at the requirements and provisions for the key development space: the test lab.

Find the GNSS simulator that's right for you. It’s widely accepted that simulation is the primary tool for testing GNSS enabled equipment. However, selecting the right simulator is not simple. The first port of call should be to check the feature list – does the simulator offer the functionality you require? After this, though, you will need to establish whether the simulator performs as expected. Failure to do so could have catastrophic consequences for your product, and even your business.

Modern vehicles, whether autonomous or assisted, heavily rely on precise positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) information for safety, efficiency, and mission-critical tasks. GNSS technology has evolved to meet these demands, offering a variety of hardware and services options, including multi-constellation and multi-frequency receivers, terrestrial and space-based augmentation systems, and complex array antennas. However, the inclusion of additional PNT sensors working together with GNSS has become increasingly important for seamless and reliable performance.

The reliance on GNSS signals for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) has made radio frequency (RF) interference from signal jamming a growing threat across various industries. Whether intentional or unintentional, jamming can significantly impact the performance of GNSS receivers, including those used for safety-critical and liability-critical operations. Therefore, developers and integrators of GNSS receivers must understand the risks presented by jamming and implement mitigation measures to protect the receivers and their users.

As jamming and spoofing – key elements in modern NAVWAR – testing becomes increasingly critical, the need for greater realism in test is skyrocketing. With impacts being felt in traditional military applications, modern drone warfare, and in civilian areas such as aviation, building systems with greater robustness and resilience can be the difference between success and failure. Even between life and death. In this webinar, a panel of Spirent experts discusses recent research which demonstrates the varying impact of GNSS jamming on an airborne receiver. The testing takes into account the dynamics of the vehicle under test, and of the jamming beacons, and incorporates realistic effects caused by signal interactions with the local environment.

*A Spirent white paper for developers and integrators of GNSS receivers* No longer the preserve of powerful state actors, spoofing is a growing threat for GNSS-enabled equipment. Understanding how spoofing works and how to mitigate the potential impact of an attack is a key concern for developers of both commercial and military/government applications.