Accurate navigation is essential for aviation platforms operating in contested and GNSS-denied environments, where disruption to satellite signals can compromise position, velocity, and timing data. Honeywell Aerospace is addressing this challenge through the development of Vision-Aided Navigation (VAN) and the Honeywell Alternative Navigation Architecture (HANA), which integrate multiple independent data sources to maintain reliable navigation performance.
Reliable navigation is a fundamental requirement for both crewed and uncrewed aircraft. Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) continuously calculate position, velocity, and attitude, but their accuracy degrades over time without input from a second, independent reference source.
For decades, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), commonly referred to as GPS, have fulfilled this role, establishing GNSS/INS as the standard aviation architecture. However, GNSS signals are susceptible to jamming, spoofing, and signal blockage. In such conditions, alternative sources are required to ensure continuity of trusted position, velocity, and timing data.
Vision-Aided Navigation as a Complement to INS
Vision-Aided Navigation provides an additional independent source of positioning data by using onboard cameras to observe the surrounding environment. The system identifies visual features such as terrain, infrastructure, and runways, and compares real-time imagery with stored reference maps.
This process delivers an absolute position reference that does not drift over time. When fused with inertial sensor data, VAN corrects INS drift, improves accuracy, and enables more precise navigation in complex and contested environments.
Honeywell Aerospace offers VAN solutions that are available today for military and commercial operators, supporting navigation performance when GNSS signals are degraded or unavailable.
The Honeywell Alternative Navigation Architecture (HANA)
HANA is a navigation framework designed to supplement INS in environments where GNSS is degraded, jammed, or denied. It integrates multiple independent aiding sources within a single architecture, enabling consistent navigation performance across a range of operational scenarios.
The framework reflects the principle that no single alternative navigation method is sufficient in all conditions. Instead, HANA enables the fusion of complementary technologies, including Vision-Aided Navigation, within a unified system.
Expanding Navigation Through Multiple Aiding Sources
HANA incorporates a variety of independent aiding sources, each contributing distinct capabilities:
- Magnetic anomaly-aided navigation leverages variations in the Earth’s magnetic field as a reference. By comparing real-time measurements with known magnetic signatures, the system estimates aircraft position.
- This provides a passive, globally available aiding source, particularly in maritime environments where visual references may be limited.
- Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite navigation uses signals from low-altitude satellite constellations that are typically stronger and more resistant to interference than traditional GNSS. These signals provide an additional source of timing and ranging data to support navigation performance.
- Other supplementary sensors include radar-based systems, celestial or star tracking, and radio-based ranging. Each provides unique motion or position data depending on the operating environment and is designed to integrate within the same fused architecture.
Toward a More Resilient Navigation Framework
Honeywell Aerospace is progressing the integration of alternative navigation technologies across current and future aviation platforms, including defense applications. Existing Vision-Aided Navigation capabilities provide a basis for broader adoption of HANA, supporting more flexible and resilient navigation frameworks.
By combining multiple independent sources of position, velocity, and timing data within a single architecture, this approach enables continued navigation performance in environments where traditional satellite-based systems cannot be relied upon.
