Northrop achieves first-ever successful quantum navigation test on one-way attack drone

Sandbox AQ, a company working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, has successfully tested its quantum sensor-based Magnetic Navigation (MagNav) on Northrop Grumman’s Lumberjack, a Group 3 unmanned aircraft system (UAS). This is the first time a MagNav has been tested on an attritable drone like Lumberjack and paired with its visual navigation system. Lumberjack is Northrop Grumman’s one-way attack drone, designed and developed in just 14 months as a response to the rising use of expendable drones in combat. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and, more recently West Asia has shown the utility of small attritable aerial systems that can operate even in GPS-denied or spoofed environments. Because the U.S. military relies heavily on the Global Positioning System (GPS) for navigation and precision targeting, jamming these signals can significantly debilitate operations. To address this, the U.S. military has been working to integrate quantum-based systems for navigation. Interesting Engineering has extensively covered the successes of these attempts in air and maritime environments. This, however, is the first time it has been used on an attritable drone. How does it work? MagNav deploys an ultra-sensitive quantum sensor to measure local variations in the Earth’s magnetic field. These are compared to a map of magnetic anomalies previously prepared to arrive at the exact location of the sensor, without using a satellite signal. Since the process works passively, the system cannot be spoofed or jammed by interfering with incoming signals, making it foolproof. SandboxAQ’s MagNav technology platform, dubbed AQNav, works in all weather conditions, is terrain-agnostic, and is compatible with existing navigational systems, making it highly suitable for aircraft platforms. “Pairing AQNav with Northrop Grumman’s experience in unmanned aircraft and open mission systems will ensure our joint forces have an operationally validated navigation capability in even the most contested domains,” said Max Schuster, program manager, Lumberjack, Northrop Grumman, in a press release. Deployed both ways The AQNav uses a software-first architecture that is designed for integration into current and future defense systems. This processes sensor data in a hardware-agnostic manner and applies physics-based models to determine its position and provide continuous navigation. It also runs on existing onboard compute infrastructure and supports open architecture interfaces that make it easy to integrate across platforms. There are also two paths of deployment available. A full-stack performance-optimized solution can be built natively on the platform’s architecture, or it can be operated as a stand-alone software solution developed specifically to deploy within existing architecture. “With Northrop Grumman’s Lumberjack, our engineers were able to install AQNav software into existing systems in less than an hour, giving the attritable platform MagNav capabilities for enhanced mission performance,” said Luca Ferrara, General Manager of Navigation at SandboxAQ, in a press release. AQNav has been flight tested by commercial aerospace entities like Airbus and Boeing, and the United States Air Force has tested it aboard the C-17 Globemaster III and C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft. “Leveraging our proven MagNav technologies and drone platform expertise, the flight test with Northrop Grumman further demonstrates the ease with which our AQNav software can be integrated into unmanned systems at the speed and scale required by leading defense organizations,” concluded Ferrara. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Ameya is a science writer based in Hyderabad, India. A Molecular Biologist at heart, he traded the micropipette to write about science during the pandemic and does not want to go back. He likes to write about genetics, microbes, technology, and public policy.