US researchers announce that they have developed a quantum inertial unit, making a major breakthrough for this jamming-insensitive alternative to GPS.
In the early 90s, the arrival of satellite geolocation, and in particular the American GPS system, profoundly changed the design of defense equipment and the conduct of operations.
Rapidly, the GPS became a major element both for navigating and for designing precision weapons, the system becoming one of the pillars of American then Western technological superiority, particularly in the context of medium and low intensity conflicts in which Western armies were engaged.
Over the following years, other systems, such as Russian GLONASS, Chinese Baidu or European Galileo, appeared, increasing the dependence of armies around the world on these technologies.
But with the increase in international divergences also arose systems capable of jamming or misleading these geolocation systems, therefore making satellite navigation more vulnerable and less reliable.
Until now, the only effective alternative to the denial of GPS signal access was based on the use of inertial units, systems based on gyroscopes capable of detecting accelerations and therefore determining changes in position.
Entirely passive, these systems are insensitive to jamming, but suffer from a loss of precision all the more rapid as the accelerations are strong or repeated, and therefore need to be readjusted regularly, partly thanks to the GPS signal.
More researchers from the Sandia National Laboratory, one of three research laboratories working for the US Department of Energy, has apparently made a major technological breakthrough in this field, developing what could be described as a Quantum Inertial Power Station, potentially insensitive to drifts and of such precision that it would offer a geolocation capability comparable to, or even superior to, that of a GPS, and this, in an autonomous manner.
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