GMV to support European Commission in developing advanced GNSS interference monitoring technologies

GMV has been awarded a contract by the European Commission to develop and validate advanced methods for characterization of interferences affecting global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), including Galileo. The project aims to deliver a demonstrator capable of quantifying improvements in Europe’s ability to characterize sources of interference that may compromise critical positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services.

The work will focus on evaluating the fusion of terrestrial sensors and satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to monitor GNSS frequency bands from ground, air, and space. By analyzing GNSS signal samples, GNSS measurements and proxy GNSS performance indicators, the project will investigate techniques capable of characterizing interference emissions and their transmitters. To achieve this, advanced algorithms will rely on observables such as received signal power levels, time differences of arrival, and Doppler shifts.

The project will explore how combining observables from multiple sensors and LEO constellations could be exploited to significantly enhance the performance of a possible future European-wide GNSS interference monitoring system. In addition to the data collected from multiple satellites, the study will evaluate the use of observations from smartphones, aircraft automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) transponders, continuously operating reference stations (CORS), and other data sources. Integrating these complementary data sources will help increase the system reliability and availability, reduce false alarms, improve accuracy, and provide precise estimates of both the affected areas and the operational impact of interference events.

The project will assess the key performance indicators (KPI) and operational feasibility of the system through simulations and experimental validation activities. At the end of the 18-month project, the goal is to lay the foundations for a possible future European GNSS interference monitoring capability based on the fusion of spaceborne, airborne, and ground-based assets. Such a capability would provide a comprehensive view of potential threats while helping to strengthen the resilience and security of satellite navigation services.