Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT): Simplifying Integration and Ensuring User Confidence

Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT)
Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT)
White Paper
March 31, 2021

Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT): Simplifying Integration and Ensuring User Confidence

There is no debating the fact that Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) are a tremendous asset to warfighters in the field. Unfortunately, there is also no debating the fact that GNSS has become a single point of failure that puts military personnel, operations, and equipment at risk. Simply replacing a GNSS with another point solution is not the answer to the problem. No matter how sophisticated or ingenious that point solution is, the ever-increasing sophistication of adversarial tactics means it will also inevitably become just another single point of failure.

The availability — or lack thereof — of technologies that could replace GNSS adds to the problem. GNSS signals are being jammed and spoofed today. But, many of the technologies being touted as potential replacements are not available today. And they will not be available for several years. Warfighters need a much more immediate solution to an increasingly dangerous point of vulnerability.

The reality is there is no “magic bullet” to today’s systems, and there never will be. Instead, technology companies that support military organizations must focus on developing solutions that consider and combine information from a number of complementary sources to provide Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) to warfighters in the field.

Solutions that combine information from multiple complementary PNT sources eliminate the risks associated with a single point of failure. Each complementary PNT information source contributes to the final result, but no single source can overly influence the information provided to warfighters. As a result, warfighters have a solution that provides a diversity of defenses to counter adversarial tactics and deliver a position, navigation, and timing truth they can confidently rely on.

The key when evaluating A-PNT solutions is to look for those that adequately address the many challenges associated with using complementary PNT technologies and that deliver the benefits warfighters and system integrators need most.

Login to download the white paper to learn more about:

  • Using complementary sources to provide A-PNT
  • Overcoming complementary PNT challenges
  • Holistic A-PNT practices in action