Honeywell and NewSpace Research and Technologies collaborate on navigation systems for unmanned aerial systems

Honeywell and NewSpace Research and Technologies partnership will cover navigation technologies that enable unmanned aerial vehicles to operate autonomous, GNSS denied, and beyond visual line of sight missions

Honeywell has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NewSpace Research and Technologies, an emerging India-based developer of unmanned platforms, to collaborate on navigation systems for unmanned aerial systems.

The two companies will jointly bring enhanced operational capabilities to unmanned platforms for military use, leveraging Honeywell’s advanced navigation technologies.

“Our partnership with NewSpace Research and Technologies underscores our Make in India commitment,” said Rajesh Rege, President, Honeywell India. “We are excited to bring our global capabilities in navigation systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to advance research in the field in India. This will be a significant step towards helping develop India’s defense capabilities and contributing to the vision of achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat in defense.”

Honeywell will provide its Resilient Navigation System, which enables UAVs to autonomously navigate in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) denied environments.

The Resilient Navigation System consists of Honeywell’s Compact Inertial Navigation System (HCINS), a radar-based Velocity Aiding System (HRVS) and anti-jamming system (GPSdome) – all working in tandem to provide multiple layers of protection that allow commercial and military operators to perform autonomous Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations in GNSS challenged or denied environments.

The teams will also collaborate on engineering and testing of UAV navigation solutions in India.   

Speaking on the announcement, Matt Picchetti, vice president and general manager, Navigation and Sensors, Honeywell Aerospace, said, “GNSS outage and jamming are major challenges for UAV operations, especially military users. These disruptions can result in catastrophic consequences for small and medium UAVs and jeopardize critical missions. Honeywell’s Resilient Navigation System significantly reduces this risk and enables UAVs to carry out missions in GNSS challenged scenarios.”   

“NewSpace Research and Technologies Private Limited is integrating some of the best resilient navigation technologies for robust operations in adverse and denied environments like the tactical battlefield area,” said Sameer Joshi, CEO, NewSpace Research and Technologies. “Such deeply integrated cyber-physical systems are expected to be a game changer for the nation’s military branches.” 

The MoU was exchanged between Sameer Joshi and Rajesh Rege.

GNSS-based systems are a primary source of navigation for UAVs – a segment which is also witnessing significant increase in disruptions including jamming and spoofing. Equipping UAVs with advanced technology to address these disruptions and maintain access to critical navigation is an area that this partnership will explore. Honeywell's Resilient Navigation System can help counter multiple problems encountered in GNSS denied environments, through features like anti-jamming, inertial navigation, and alternative navigation systems.

Based in Bengaluru, NewSpace Research and Technologies designs and develops persistent drones for earth observation and communications and specializes in swarm drones.