Seeing isn’t knowing
We trust GPS every day without a second thought. But what happens when that signal can no longer be trusted?
So many things in our day-to-day lives use Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) without us giving them a second thought. Whether we're following directions on our phones, tracking our 5k time, or even paying for a coffee, there is a quiet assumption woven into everyday life that the information we receive can always be relied upon. We rarely stop to question the signals behind the screen. We trust it because it’s what we know and, most of the time, it works.
But what happens when that signal is wrong?
In today's increasingly contested operational environments, preparedness begins with understanding a simple but uncomfortable truth, what you see is not always reality. As electronic warfare capabilities continue to evolve, spoofing has become an increasingly prevalent challenge in modern warfare.
Most UAS rely heavily on GNSS, such as GPS, to determine their position and navigate successfully. In permissive environments, these signals provide a reliable foundation for operations. However, modern threat landscapes are rarely permissive.
Signals can be degraded by terrain, atmospheric conditions, or environmental interference. They can be disrupted by jamming, manipulated, or spoofed to create a false picture of reality. A drone may believe it is exactly where it should be while, in fact, it is somewhere entirely different.
The challenge is not only losing a signal, but recognising when a signal can no longer be trusted.
In military operations, the consequences of this can be significant. Situational awareness is only as good as the information that underpins it. If the foundation is compromised, the picture presented to operators can become increasingly disconnected from reality.
Many critical systems depend on satellite-based timing and positioning services to function effectively, from UAS flight all the way to card payments. Saab recently demonstrated how distributed radar networks can maintain a coherent and accurate air picture by integrating quantum timing technology with the Giraffe 1X radar system. The trial demonstrated how alternative sources of highly accurate timing can help mitigate the effects of jamming, spoofing and signal disruption.
Likewise, BlueBear’s SmartNav combines inputs from multiple sensors, including GNSS and inertial measurement units (IMUs), to create a single navigation solution. By fusing information from different sources, the system can continue developing an understanding of its position even when one source becomes unreliable. The addition of visual navigation techniques strengthens this capability further. Instead of relying exclusively on external signals, the platform can use the surrounding environment itself as a reference point, helping maintain operational effectiveness when traditional navigation signals are unavailable, degraded or deliberately compromised.
Beyond dependence on vulnerable signals
While the technologies and applications differ, the objective remains the same. Across Saab UK's ecosystem, teams are exploring complementary approaches to reduce reliance on vulnerable signals, increase operational resilience and ensure critical capabilities continue to perform in contested environments. Whether through quantum timing for radar networks or visual navigation for autonomous systems, the focus is on building robust solutions that enable trusted decision-making when conventional sources of timing, positioning and navigation can no longer be relied upon.
Reliable situational awareness does not come from seeing more information; it comes from knowing which information is reliable. In modern operational environments, the greatest risk is not always the absence of a signal.