Honeywell Aerospace has launched Kestrel, a compact embedded GNSS/inertial navigation system developed for uncrewed aerial systems operating where satellite navigation signals may be degraded, jammed, or spoofed. Designed for smaller aviation platforms with stringent size, weight, power, and cost requirements, Kestrel integrates Honeywell Aerospace’s HG3900 microelectromechanical systems inertial measurement unit with an M-code receiver and a multi-GNSS receiver.

The integrated embedded GNSS/INS architecture combines satellite positioning with onboard inertial measurements to provide position, velocity, and attitude information. By blending these inputs, Kestrel is designed to maintain a navigation solution when GNSS signals become weak, disrupted, or temporarily unavailable.

This combination is particularly relevant for smaller UAS, where navigation resilience must be balanced against payload capacity, electrical power, installation volume, acquisition cost, and mission duration.

Kestrel is intended for Group 2 and Group 3 collaborative combat aircraft and loitering munitions platforms. The system is also suitable for crewed aircraft where size, weight, power, and cost are important design considerations.

Drone flying at dusk representing Honeywell Aerospace Kestrel UAS navigation system – Aerospace Technology Monthly

Honeywell Aerospace has launched Kestrel, a compact embedded GNSS/inertial navigation system for smaller UAS operating in contested environments.

Noted Matt Picchetti, Honeywell Aerospace Vice President and General Manager of Navigation & Sensors, “Kestrel reflects the evolving needs of today’s uncrewed operations, where operators are looking for resilient navigation technology that is smaller, lighter and more cost-effective. This system helps operators maintain mission objectives in environments where legacy GPS systems are lagging behind.”

Kestrel is 40 percent smaller and lighter than similar navigation products available today, while delivering up to an 80 percent improvement in navigation accuracy for uncrewed platforms. Published specifications also identify potential cost reductions of as much as 50 percent, supporting deployment across high-volume drone operations. Its resilient navigation capabilities are designed to reduce UAS attrition by 60 percent while more than doubling mission-distance capacity.

The ability to operate without assured GNSS access is an important requirement for military aircraft in contested or GNSS-denied environments. Inertial navigation provides continuous, self-contained estimates of position, velocity, and attitude without relying solely on external satellite signals.

Kestrel pairs Honeywell’s HG3900 near-navigation-grade MEMS inertial technology with secure M-code and multi-GNSS reception. This combination is intended to provide resilient positioning, navigation, and timing performance as the availability and integrity of satellite signals change throughout a mission.

The system will be available in configurations supporting global defense and commercial applications, including international and non-ITAR deployments.

Honeywell pioneered embedded GNSS/inertial navigation technology and has produced more than 60,000 units since the mid-1990s for navigation, pointing, stabilization, and flight-control applications. For UAS developers and operators, Kestrel represents the continued movement of higher-performance inertial navigation into smaller, more cost-constrained aircraft. That transition is increasingly important as collaborative aircraft, loitering munitions, and other autonomous platforms are expected to operate in congested and contested radio-frequency environments.

About Honeywell Aerospace

Honeywell Aerospace Technologies develops and supplies propulsion, avionics, navigation, sensing, connectivity, power, thermal management, flight-control, mechanical, and actuation technologies for commercial, business, general aviation, defense, space, and advanced air mobility applications. Its propulsion portfolio includes aircraft engines, auxiliary power units, engine controls, and related components. Honeywell Aerospace avionics and electronic systems include integrated flight decks, cockpit displays, flight management systems, communications, weather radar, traffic and terrain awareness technologies, satellite communications, and aircraft connectivity solutions.

The company’s navigation and sensing portfolio includes inertial navigation systems, embedded GNSS/inertial navigation systems, inertial measurement units, accelerometers, gyroscopes, air data and pressure systems, radar altimeters, and alternative navigation technologies. Honeywell Aerospace also develops wheels and braking systems, electric power systems, thermal technologies, environmental controls, and actuation products. Honeywell Aerospace products and services are used on commercial, defense, and space aircraft, as well as autonomous and terrestrial platforms. For more information, please click here.

Source/Photo Credit: Honeywell Aerospace

(Editor’s Note: All trademarks mentioned in this article, including company names, product names, and logos, are the property of their respective owners. Use of these trademarks is for informational purposes only and does not imply any endorsement.)

Molly Bakewell Chamberlin
Latest posts by Molly Bakewell Chamberlin (see all)
Tagged