GNSS

RIN updates navigation system guide for small craft

The Royal Institute of Navigation Small Craft Group has released Version 2 of a free navigation guide for small and leisure craft. “Electronic Navigation Systems: Guidance for safe use on leisure vessels” is offered as a free digital download and as a hard copy for purchase from Bookharbour.

Guidance includes
• safe use of electronic navigation and associated systems on leisure vessels
• “keys to safety” in many operational situations
• advantages and drawbacks of different systems and approaches.

Version 1 of the “Electronic Navigation Systems” booklet is still available as a free download. https://rin.org.uk/page/ENav

DGCA compiling data on GPS spoofing instances

India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is collecting data on GPS interference and spoofing to have a better understanding of the situation. The urge to collect data comes after the Delhi airport experienced issues sometime back.

Recently, several airlines have faced GPS spoofing at the New Delhi airport, with at least eight such instances on Nov. 5, said an unnamed DGCA official. The interference instances were noticed in domestic and international flights.

Generally, interference issues are reported in border areas, rather than at Indira Gandhi International Airport, the country’s busiest. Daily flight movements have increased to more than 1,500 following an airport terminal upgrade completed in October.

As many as 465 GPS interference and spoofing incidents were reported in the border region, mostly in the Amritsar and Jammu areas, between November 2023 and February 2025. economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sateliot, ESA launch project to break GPS reliance

Sateliot will test a pioneering system that allows its satellites to connect with IoT devices without relying on GNSS. The breakthrough opens new opportunities in sectors such as defense and security, where Europe’s technological autonomy and operation in GNSS-denied environments are strategic priorities.

Low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, such as the one developed by Sateliot, provide coverage in areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks — over half of the planet’s surface. However, until now, they depended on GNSS, increasing both the energy consumption of devices and terminal costs.

The FreeGNSSNetwork project, signed with the European Space Agency (ESA) and led jointly with GMV, eliminates this dependency using advanced algorithms that enable devices to calculate their position directly from the satellites’ signals. This maintains a stable and accurate connection even under complex conditions such as wartime scenarios. https://sateliot.space

ESA contracts SBQuantum for space-ready quantum sensors

SBQuantum has secured new contract with the European Space Agency (ESA). Funded through ESA’s FutureEO Programme, the deal is worth nearly $1 million USD (€800,000) and will see SBQuantum deliver a new prototype of its quantum magnetometer sensor, optimized for Earth Observation (EO) missions in space. The upgraded version of the device will remain the same size and weight while delivering a number of enhanced capabilities including improved sensitivity (sub 100 Picotesla), higher bandwidth (400 Hz) and greater accuracy (200 Picotesla) as required by ESA for advanced EO missions. sbquantum.com