Resilient Systems Developed Specifically for SOF Requirements

Safran Electronics & Defense unveiled its new resilient position, navigation and timing (PNT) system – Navkite – at SOFINS 2023 this week.

Developed to meet the operational requirements of the commandos of the French Navy (who form a part of Special Operations Command), Navkite will be integrated on the Embarcation Commando à Usage Multiple Embarquable (ECUME), a transportable, multirole, semi-rigid boat purpose-designed for commandos and other special forces.

Operating in an environment in which GNSS signals are unavailable, due to spoofing, jamming or technical failure, is becoming an increasingly intractable challenge. Onboard systems need to be precisely geolocated and synchronised. To be able to provide consistent, reliable and time-stamped information under all conditions. Building on a concept emanating from FUSCOLAB, the French Marine Corps innovation laboratory in Lorient, Safran has developed a compact, hybrid navigation system to be used on ECUME, allowing special forces to operate in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment. The system’s capabilities depend on the coupling of the company’s GEONYX M inertial navigation system with its VersaSync time/frequency server. Together, they handle the transmission of trusted PNT data to ensure mission continuity.

Navkite leverages Safran’s proven PNT expertise to provide navigation integrity and performance on land or at sea, even over long periods of time and under the most demanding circumstances. Initial sea trials in Brittany demonstrated system performance under operational conditions and it was then deployed in the HEMEX exercise earlier this year, delivering what the company terms “very satisfactory performance”.