STARNAV and NAVAL GROUP have signed a collaboration agreement. It centers on MAGELLAN, a system capable of determining a ship’s position using the stars and the sun. The goal is to enhance navigation safety when GPS signals are jammed, spoofed, or unavailable.
Faced with the growing risks of jamming, spoofing, or signal loss in global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), the issue of military ship resilience has become strategic. It is in this context that STARNAV, a company specializing in astro-inertial navigation, and Naval Group, a major player in the naval defense sector, have decided to combine their expertise.
Naval Group designs, manufactures, markets, and ensures the operational readiness of military vessels, including surface ships, submarines, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and onboard equipment. As part of its research and development activities, the company focuses in particular on the ability of its vessels to maintain a reliable position under all circumstances, even when satellite signals are disrupted or spoofed.
For its part, STARNAV has developed MAGELLAN, a navigation system capable of accurately determining a ship’s position using the stars at night and the sun during the day, without a visible horizon and without human intervention. Entirely independent of satellite systems, this device aims to ensure safe navigation even in the event of GPS jamming, spoofing, or unavailability.
A Shared Interest
Naval Group’s interest in this technology has led the two companies to formalize their partnership. The signed agreement provides for joint work aimed at evaluating the compatibility of the MAGELLAN system with a ship designed by Naval Group, analyzing the technical conditions for its integration, and testing the system’s interface under real-world conditions, particularly during sea trials.
For STARNAV, this collaboration should also enable it to further develop its solution to better address the specific constraints of naval platforms. In particular, the company aims to advance the necessary developments to interface its system with onboard architectures.
Through this agreement, both parties intend to exchange information and technical data to concretely assess the operational potential of this solution. This is a major challenge, as the robustness of navigation capabilities is becoming a central concern for players in the maritime defense sector.
And in the future…
If the work proves successful, this partnership could pave the way for new navigation solutions capable of enhancing the autonomy and safety of ships in increasingly contested environments.
