In a significant breakthrough, SandboxAQ has successfully demonstrated its real-time AI magnetic navigation system, AQNav, with the United States Air Force (USAF). On July 18, a USAF C-17 Globemaster III aircraft took off from Charleston Air Force Base, using AQNav to navigate without GPS. This milestone marks a major achievement in magnetic navigation, as pilots were able to acquire their aircraft’s position and navigate to designated coordinates in real-time.
Led by Jen Sovada, President of Global Public Sector, and Luca Ferrara, General Manager of Navigation at SandboxAQ, the team worked closely with the Palmetto Spark Cell at Charleston Air Force Base to test AQNav in a real-world environment. The system’s ability to adapt and calibrate itself on different aircraft types was also demonstrated, a critical feature for widespread deployment.
As GPS denial, jamming, and spoofing instances increase globally, the need for an unjammable, unspoofable navigation system like AQNav has become more pressing. With its dual-use strategy, SandboxAQ aims to deploy AQNav efficiently across various platforms, from military aircraft to commercial aviation and beyond.
Advancing Magnetic Navigation with AQNav
The United States Air Force (USAF) has successfully demonstrated the capabilities of AQNav, a real-time AI magnetic navigation system developed by SandboxAQ. In a recent test flight, a USAF C-17 Globemaster III aircraft took off from Charleston Air Force Base, utilizing AQNav for real-time navigation in a real-world environment without relying on GPS signals. This milestone marks a significant achievement in the development of magnetic navigation systems.
The test flight was designed to prove the system’s capabilities and capture additional magnetic signals emanating through the Earth’s crust. The USAF pilots used AQNav to acquire their aircraft’s position and navigate to designated coordinates, demonstrating the system’s ability to adapt and calibrate itself on a particular aircraft type. This capability, known as generalizability, is critical for deploying AQNav across various fleets at scale.
The collaboration between SandboxAQ and the Palmetto Spark Cell at CAFB played a crucial role in enabling the testing of AQNav for real-time use in critical GPS-denied environments. The support and feedback from the Palmetto Spark Cell allowed SandboxAQ to tailor their magnetic navigation system to meet the most demanding GPS-denied use-cases for Air Mobility Command.
Growing Industry Need for Magnetic Navigation
The increasing instances of GPS denial, jamming, and spoofing around the globe have created a pressing need for an unjammable, unspoofable, all-weather, day/night, terrain-agnostic, and passive signal system. Such a system is essential to ensure the safety of passengers and equipment and maintain accurate navigation when GPS signals are unavailable or compromised.
The successful demonstration of AQNav has highlighted the importance of developing alternative navigation systems that can operate in GPS-denied environments. The ability to integrate AQNav into existing systems and architectures will be critical for widespread adoption, and SandboxAQ is designing the system with speed-to-market and scalability in mind.
Dual-Use Strategy for AQNav
SandboxAQ’s dual-use strategy ensures that AQNav can be deployed efficiently and effectively across various platforms and use cases. This approach enables the development of a single system that can cater to both military and commercial aviation needs, providing reliable navigation solutions beyond GPS-denied environments.
The recent success of AQNav has led to further collaborations with the USAF and commercial partners to develop additional configurations for deployment on a wider range of aircraft platforms, including unmanned aerial systems. The USAF’s awarding of a SBIR Phase 2B Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract to SandboxAQ validates the incredible work accomplished by the team and collaboration partner AFWERX.
Future Development and Adoption
Buoyed by the success of recent milestones, SandboxAQ will continue collaborating with the USAF and commercial partners to further develop AQNav’s capabilities. The partnerships with Acubed and AFWERX are crucial for putting in place the foundation for widespread adoption and standardization of magnetic navigation systems.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and AFWERX play integral roles in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for the Department of the Air Force. The collaborations between SandboxAQ, AFRL, and AFWERX will be critical for driving faster technology transition to operational capability.
As the innovation arm of the DAF, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. The partnerships with SandboxAQ and other companies will strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive technological advancements in magnetic navigation systems.
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