Countering GNSS Denial with Tactical Radio Satellites

Sang Wu Kim, Khanh D. Pham

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This paper proposes a backward-compatible framework for enabling absolute positioning in GNSS-denied environments by embedding an unmodulated pseudo-noise (PN) sequence directly into the operational Link 16 tactical radio waveform. Unlike conventional navigation augmentation approaches that rely on dedicated spectrum or specialized hardware, the proposed method leverages existing Link 16 transmissions to support time-of-arrival–based ranging. By exploiting the high transmit power and inherent resilience of Link 16 signals relative to GNSS waveforms, the approach enables robust delivery of absolute position information, including latitude, longitude, and altitude, under interference and jamming. A unified transceiver architecture supporting simultaneous communication and navigation is developed, and its performance is evaluated in terms of pseudorange error and communication error rate, demonstrating the feasibility of extracting reliable navigation observables while preserving Link 16 communication performance.
Published in:	Proceedings of the ION 2026 Pacific PNT Meeting April 13 - 16, 2026 Hilton Waikiki Beach Honolulu, Hawaii
Pages:	230 - 234
Cite this article:	Kim, Sang Wu, Pham, Khanh D., "Countering GNSS Denial with Tactical Radio Satellites," Proceedings of the ION 2026 Pacific PNT Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2026, pp. 230-234. https://doi.org/10.33012/2026.20628
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