Magnetic navigation tested as backup against GPS jamming

GPS jamming and spoofing are a growing threat to aviation, and work is underway on an alternative navigation method that relies on Earth's magnetic field. The technique uses highly sensitive quantum sensors to detect magnetic patterns produced by rocks in the crust. Matching those patterns to a stored map could determine an aircraft's position without satellite signals.

Two companies are working on separate versions of the technology. Honeywell Aerospace recently demonstrated a system being developed with the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit. Australia's Q-CTRL is collaborating with Airbus to test and evaluate similar technology.

The need for backup navigation is growing. The International Air Transport Association recorded a 220% increase in GPS signal-loss events in its flight-data program between 2021 and 2024. On June 18, 2025, IATA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a joint assessment reporting more frequent and complex jamming and spoofing across Eastern Europe and the Middle East, with incidents spreading elsewhere.

Those organizations called for stronger backup navigation, better interference reporting, and fixes for problems such as false terrain warnings and GPS equipment that struggles to recover after interference.