U.S. Air Force Demonstrates Next-Gen Navigation Systems for GPS-Denied Combat Zones

The U.S. Air Force has successfully tested a new generation of advanced navigation systems designed to operate reliably even when GPS signals are jammed, spoofed, or unavailable. In partnership with industry leaders like Integrated Solutions for Systems (IS4S), AEVEX Aerospace, and Northrop Grumman Corporation, a series of test flights were conducted between 3 and 7 February to demonstrate these capabilities.

Why Resilient Navigation Matters

In modern warfare, position, navigation, and timing (PNT) data are critical for everything from guiding aircraft to launching precision weapons and coordinating troop movements. Today, most systems rely on Global Positioning System (GPS) signals for this information. However, adversaries have developed technologies to jam or spoof GPS signals, leaving aircraft and military units vulnerable.

That’s where resilient navigation systems come in — technologies designed to maintain reliable navigation information even when GPS is compromised.

What Was Tested

During the demonstration, two major systems were showcased:

1. R-EGI (Resilient-Embedded GPS/INS)

Developed by IS4S, the R-EGI system combines a GPS receiver with an Inertial Navigation System (INS). Even when GPS is denied, the INS uses internal sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes to estimate position by tracking the aircraft’s movements.

What made this test special was the integration of AEVEX Aerospace’s LynxVBN Vision-Based Navigation System — a system that uses onboard cameras and image recognition to determine the aircraft’s location by comparing real-time visuals with stored maps or imagery.

Thanks to its Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA), R-EGI was able to rapidly integrate this third-party visual navigation system in a ‘plug and play’ manner, successfully maintaining positioning accuracy in simulated GPS-denied conditions.

Example of Resilient Navigation:
Imagine a fighter jet flying over a battlefield where enemy jammers block GPS signals. The aircraft’s INS continues to track movement, while the Vision-Based Navigation system identifies landmarks like mountain ranges or rivers to cross-check its location — keeping the pilot aware of their position without relying on satellite signals.

2. EGI-M (Embedded GPS/INS Modernization)

Northrop Grumman’s EGI-M program tested three different types of navigation units — the LN-300, LN-351, and LN-251. These systems evaluated several navigation modes:

• Hybrid Navigation: Uses GPS and INS together

• Free Inertial Navigation: Uses only INS when GPS is lost

• GPS-Only Navigation: When no interference is present

For the first time, NAVWAR Blended Navigation Assurance (BNA) functionality was integrated, providing an added layer of security against GPS threats.

One of the major achievements was that even without GPS, the Free Inertial Navigation solution maintained positional accuracy within the set performance limits — a significant milestone for navigation resilience in contested environments.

What This Means for the Future

These successful tests prove that open-architecture, modular systems can quickly adopt new technologies, allowing military platforms to evolve and stay ahead of emerging threats. It also highlights how collaboration between the military and private industry can accelerate the delivery of mission-critical solutions.

As emphasized by U.S. Air Force leaders involved in the program, these breakthroughs are essential for ensuring that American warfighters can operate effectively even in highly contested, GPS-denied battlefields of the future.

Final Thoughts

The demonstrations not only showed the strength of these new navigation systems but also reflected a broader strategy: to build flexible, open, and adaptable technology ecosystems for the U.S. military. This ensures forces can integrate new capabilities quickly and maintain operational superiority in any environment.