Precision Navigation: Open Systems Enabling GPS Backup Technology.

• Author: Roaten, Meredith

Operations in Ukraine have put a spotlight on the dangers of GPS-denied environments, through the proliferation of advanced technology that can disrupt a position, navigation and timing system's connection to satellites or prevent it from knowing its location.

The Army, Navy and Air Force have all developed their own backup solutions and help service members find their way, but the open standards that make PNT possible are still a work in progress.

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act directed the Pentagon to "mature, test, and produce alternative PNT equipment" within two years. A recently released Government Accountability Office report shows that the services have launched efforts to meet that timeline with the help of modular open systems. The report, "DoD is Developing Navigation Systems but is Not Measuring Overall Progress," found that some programs developing capabilities that are alternatives to GPS do not have complete "business cases," which include independent cost estimates, risk assessments, schedule assessments, acquisition strategies and requirements documentation. This documentation "has a statistically significant correlation with improved cost and schedule performance," said the report.

One strategy that will help the Defense Department develop technology is prioritizing the modular open system approach, which will both lower costs and shrink development timelines. Most services achieve this by developing a piece of hardware called a multi-PNT receiver that can easily have different technologies swapped in and out. Because taking out old technology for new is less costly and time consuming, this streamlines the process of innovating and competing PNT technology. By using a modular open system approach, the department "seeks to capitalize on cost savings, schedule reductions, more rapid deployment of new technologies and increased interoperability," according to the report.

That is a movement happening across the department through what's called a position, navigation and timing reference architecture, according to the Pentagon.

The first architecture was released in October 2021, but the open architecture collaborative initiative of the office of the undersecretary of defense for research and development is now working toward an updated release. It will align with "updates to the All Source Position and Navigation (ASPN) data standard and progress with Service Reference Architectures," said Office of the Secretary...