GMV advances satellite navigation to boost autonomous transport and logistics

In what is claimed to represent a significant step forward in strengthening the UK and Europe’s next-generation positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities, technology business group GMV has been awarded a contract to develop Beacon, an advanced beamforming antenna and receiver system designed to improve the resilience of C-band radio navigation signals from low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

The contract was won by GMV through its subsidiaries in the UK and Portugal, in partnership with Loughborough University, working under the European Space Agency’s NAVISP programme.

Combining beamforming, null-steering and angle-of-arrival estimation, Beacon is designed to enhance signal integrity and provide stronger protection against interference and spoofing. These techniques are seen as essential for ensuring reliable navigation performance in dense, obstructed and interference-heavy environments, where conventional antennas often struggle. By delivering these capabilities for C-band, GMV is confident that Beacon adds a critical component to the emerging end-to-end LEO-based PNT chain.

PNT is the bedrock for virtually all modern-day activities, from finance to transport, that depend on access to reliable and accurate information. Examples include satellite navigation services and timing signals, without which mobile phones and even stock markets could not function properly. A recent UK government study showed that just a 24-hour outage of satellite navigation services could cost the UK economy £1.4bn. It also noted the threats posed by the jamming or spoofing of PNT services by hostile actors, and PNT can even be impacted by natural events like solar flares from the sun.

The new 18-month €800,000 programme, launching in December 2025, will take the system from design and integration through calibration and validation under real-world conditions, including interference trials and demanding urban environments. The project will also support the growing commercial need for dependable navigation in sectors such as autonomous transport, logistics and unmanned systems.

In practice, the Beacon project will design and showcase a controlled radiation pattern antenna tailored for C-band, a frequency pivotal to the future of LEO navigation and increasingly prominent in ESA’s FutureNAV programme and Celeste mission, as well as emerging commercial systems.

Also building on GMV’s insights from ESA’s LEO PNT Legion initiative, Beacon will also look to demonstrate the strength of a fully integrated solution comprising GMV’s XRC software-defined receiver combined with a compact antenna array engineered by Loughborough University. This aims to deliver precise beam steering and robust protection against interference and spoofing. GMV’s team in Portugal will provide support to the UK team, primarily on the use and adaptation of the XRC software receiver and the enhancement of its beamforming functionality.

Beyond its technical objectives, GMV noted that Beacon reinforces Europe’s commitment to securing autonomous, resilient PNT services at a time when reliable navigation underpins critical national infrastructure, transport and defence. The project will also support the growing commercial need for dependable navigation in sectors such as autonomous transport, logistics and unmanned systems.

“Our goal at GMV is simple: to make navigation you can trust, wherever you are. By integrating agile beamforming antenna technology with advanced signal processing, Beacon will deliver a PNT capability that remains reliable even under demanding interference conditions,” said William Roberts, NAV manager at GMV UK.

The GMV contract comes just after the UK government announced that it would spend £155m to boost the UK’s resilience and global leadership in PNT services. Explaining its move, it remarked that in what it called “an uncertain world” where the threats to PNT are growing, fully secure and smoothly running PNT services were vital for the growth of the UK’s economy, particularly in high-growth sectors such as AI and data, and for the delivery of public services. It stressed that the UK cannot be complacent, and added that strengthening the UK’s PNT capabilities will give direction to the growing PNT industry, supporting the wider economy and national renewal.