Australian navigation technology company Advanced Navigation has secured a €16 million ($19 million) contract to supply hundreds of Boreas inertial navigation systems to Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace for integration into its PROTECTOR counter-drone platforms.
Boreas combines fibre-optic gyroscopes with other sensors to continuously measure a platform’s movement, position, and orientation. The system can also determine true north by detecting the Earth’s rotation, eliminating the need for GPS signals or a magnetic compass.
When integrated into a PROTECTOR weapon station, Boreas provides critical navigation data to maintain the alignment of sensors and weapons as the platform moves. Although GPS offers positioning capabilities under normal operating conditions, its signals remain vulnerable to jamming and spoofing.
Boreas addresses these vulnerabilities by relying on onboard measurements to deliver continuous navigation and orientation data when satellite signals are unavailable or unreliable. According to Advanced Navigation, this capability enables weapon stations to maintain sensor alignment and accurately engage aerial targets in contested operational environments.
Poland’s Counter-Drone Modernisation Programme
The Boreas systems will be integrated into Kongsberg’s PROTECTOR platforms, which feature remotely operated turrets and weapon stations designed to detect and engage unmanned aerial threats.
These systems form part of a major Polish procurement programme awarded earlier this year to Kongsberg and defence group Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ).
Under the 16-billion-Norwegian-kroner ($1.6 billion) agreement, the companies will deliver 18 counter-drone batteries equipped with integrated sensors, command-and-control systems, and a combination of guns, missiles, and interceptor drones.
Polish defence company Advanced Protection Systems, operating as a subcontractor to PGZ, will supply the command-and-control system responsible for connecting the various components to Poland’s broader air defence network.
To support the programme’s delivery requirements, Kongsberg also plans to expand its manufacturing capacity in Poland, strengthening local production capabilities and supporting the country’s counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) modernisation efforts.
The contract highlights the growing importance of GPS-independent navigation technologies in modern air defence, particularly as military forces seek resilient targeting and engagement capabilities against drones operating in electronically contested environments.
