Researchers test magnetic navigation to protect aircraft from GPS jamming

GPS jamming and spoofing pose a growing threat to aviation by blocking satellite signals or feeding aircraft false position information that can send them dangerously off course. Now researchers are testing a way to navigate despite that interference by reading tiny variations in Earth’s magnetic field and comparing them with mapped magnetic patterns.

The approach uses highly sensitive quantum sensors to detect magnetic patterns created by rocks in Earth’s crust. By matching those patterns to a stored map, the system can help determine an aircraft’s position without GPS.

Honeywell Aerospace and Australian technology company Q-CTRL are pursuing separate development efforts. Honeywell recently demonstarted technology it is working on with the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, while Q-CTRL is collaborating with Airbus to test and evaluate similar technology.

The threat of GPS jamming and spoofing has grown sharply. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recorded a 220% increase in GPS signal-loss events between 2021 and 2024 in its flight-data program. In a joint assessment published on June 18, 2025, IATA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency reported increasing jamming and spoofing across Eastern Europe and the Middle East, with incidents growing elsewhere around the world.

The organizations warned that the disruptions were becoming more frequent and more complex. They called for stronger backup navigation, better interference reporting and technical solutions to problems such as false terrain warnings and GPS equipment that struggles to recover after interference.

Reading Earth’s magnetic fingerprints

The new technology, known as magnetic navigation using quantum sensors, offers a way to work around that problem. The tech looks for landmarks on a map, except the landmarks lie in the magnetic patterns created by rocks in Earth’s crust.

Sensitive instruments called quantum magnetometers detect those patterns. Software compares the measurements with a stored magnetic map to help locate the aircraft. A compass indicates which way is north. The approach helps determine the aircraft’s position with surprising accuracy.

The “quantum” part describes the sensors. Q-CTRL’s instruments use the response of rubidium atoms to measure magnetic fields. But conventional processors handle the navigation calculations, so there is no quantum computer riding in the avionics bay. The company’s research paper describes how the equipment works.

Putting magnetic navigation to the test

Honeywell and the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit recently demonstrated magnetic navigation aboard an Embraer 170 test bed. The aircraft flew over the Pacific from the Puget Sound area toward southern Alaska and back during a four-hour, 23-minute test without GPS, according to DIU.The agency announced the results on September 4, 2026, but did not specify the flight date. It reported an 89% improvement in position accuracy compared with traditional backup navigation methods. Pilots received the experimental system’s navigation information on standard tablets.

Aircraft already have ways to navigate without satellites. Inertial navigation systems (INS) track movement from a known starting point, but small measurement errors accumulate over time. Without an outside position update, the aircraft’s calculated location gradually drifts away from its actual position.

Magnetic navigation can provide those corrections without GPS. Q-CTRL’s published test system combined magnetic measurements with conventional inertial navigation and velocity information. The technologies work together to keep the position estimate from wandering.

Q-CTRL has been working with Airbus since 2024 to test and evaluate quantum navigation for commercial aviation.

On July 14, 2026, the company announced that its Ironstone Opal system had achieved safety-of-flight qualification under the RTCA DO-160 standard. It also reported flight tests showing positioning accuracy better than 0.3 nautical miles for 95% of a flight.

The potential applications extend beyond airliners and high-end business jets. Q-CTRL has tested its equipment aboard a Cessna Grand Caravan and developed a smaller version for drones. Neither company has disclosed a price for a complete aircraft installation.

There are still practical hurdles. Aircraft create magnetic interference of their own, which the software must separate from the signals coming from Earth. It is a little like trying to hear a quiet conversation beside a running engine, researchers say.

The maps must also be good enough to navigate by. A June 2026 research preprint identified gaps in the detail and consistency of existing magnetic maps that could complicate wider use.

Honeywell and DIU plan another demonstration aboard a C-17 Globemaster III military transport later in 2026. The goal is to give crews a dependable position reference when satellite navigation becomes unavailable or unreliable.The post Researchers test magnetic navigation to protect aircraft from GPS jamming appeared first on AeroTime.

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