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On 6 May 2026, the Ministry of Defence announced a £6 million contract to develop navigation technology designed to keep working even when GPS and other satellite signals are jammed or deliberately falsified by adversaries. The two year programme, known as Urgent Compass, will develop enhanced Long Range Navigation, or eLoran, technology. The contract has been awarded to Team Elaris, a partnership led by QinetiQ and bringing together specialist navigation companies from the UK and United States.
The announcement comes as concerns about GPS jamming and spoofing in conflict zones have grown significantly. Satellite navigation has become deeply embedded in how modern militaries operate, covering everything from guiding troops and vehicles to timing communications and directing precision weapons. When those signals are blocked or faked, the consequences can be serious. The Urgent Compass programme is the government's response to that vulnerability.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Announcement date: 6 May 2026, by the Ministry of Defence's National Armaments Director Group.
- Contract value: £6 million, awarded to the QinetiQ led Team Elaris partnership.
- Programme name: Urgent Compass, a two year development programme.
- Technology: Enhanced Long Range Navigation (eLoran), a ground based alternative to satellite navigation.
- Target delivery: A deployable system is targeted by April 2028.
Modern military operations depend on accurate position, navigation, and timing. GPS and similar satellite systems provide those capabilities reliably under normal conditions. But satellites can be targeted. Adversaries with the right equipment can jam GPS signals, flooding an area with interference that drowns out the satellite signal. They can also spoof GPS, broadcasting false signals that trick devices into believing they are somewhere they are not. In a combat environment, that can mean troops being misdirected, guided weapons sent off course, or communications systems losing the precise timing they rely on.
The Scale of GPS Vulnerability in Modern Conflict
GPS disruption is not a theoretical risk. It is an established feature of contemporary conflict:
- Jamming: Powerful broadcast interference can block satellite signals across a wide area, rendering GPS dependent systems unreliable or completely non-functional.
- Spoofing: More sophisticated than jamming, spoofing involves broadcasting convincing but false GPS signals, causing navigation systems to display incorrect positions without alerting the user that anything is wrong.
- Scale of reliance: Navigation and timing signals underpin not just movement, but communications, logistics, targeting, and drone operations across a modern force.
- Adversary capability: State level adversaries have demonstrated both jamming and spoofing capabilities in multiple theatres of conflict in recent years.
Why a Ground Based Alternative Is the Answer
eLoran, or enhanced Long Range Navigation, works on a fundamentally different principle to satellite navigation:
How eLoran Differs from GPS
- Signal source: eLoran uses ground based transmitters rather than satellites orbiting thousands of miles above the earth. Those transmitters are far harder to jam or spoof.
- Signal strength: eLoran broadcasts on low frequencies at very high power, making the signal significantly more resistant to interference than the relatively weak signals from satellites.
- Resilience in contested areas: Because the signal originates from ground infrastructure rather than space, it continues to function even in environments where satellite signals are actively being blocked.
- Trusted alternative: eLoran provides an independent check on satellite data, meaning a system that combines both can detect when it is being spoofed by comparing the two sources.
What Has the Government Announced and Who Is Delivering It?
The contract was awarded by the MOD's National Armaments Director Group to Team Elaris, a partnership assembled specifically for this programme. The contract covers a two year development and assessment phase, with a deployable system targeted by April 2028. The programme is currently in its assessment phase, working directly with users across the British military to define requirements and shape what the final system will look like.
Who Makes Up Team Elaris?
Team Elaris brings together four specialist companies with combined expertise in navigation systems:
The Team Elaris Partnership
- QinetiQ (lead): A UK based defence technology company with significant experience in testing, evaluation, and advanced navigation systems. QinetiQ leads the partnership.
- Roke: A UK defence and technology firm specialising in signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and communications systems.
- GMV NSL: A UK firm specialising in satellite navigation and resilient positioning technology, with experience across both civil and defence sectors.
- UrsaNav: A US company regarded as a world leader in eLoran system design and deployment, bringing direct expertise in the specific technology being developed.
What Did Ministers Say?
Luke Pollard MP, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said: "In this new era of threat, we are in constant confrontation with adversaries seeking to interfere with our military networks, which are essential to how a military operates in modern warfare. This investment will boost our Armed Forces' resilience on the battlefield by developing technology to protect them, ensuring that they can continue vital operations protecting UK citizens and allies around the world."
Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive of QinetiQ, said: "This award brings together Team Elaris' decades of advanced navigation experience and builds on existing work to deliver Alternative Navigation solutions. Our expertise in eLoran systems will support the UK Government's requirements for resilient position, navigation and timing capabilities to help protect the UK from adversaries seeking to undermine this critical service."
What Does This Mean in Practice? Wider Implications
The Urgent Compass programme sits within a broader government strategy of building what ministers describe as sovereign defence capabilities: technologies that the UK owns, develops, and controls, reducing reliance on systems that could be disrupted by adversaries or withheld by third parties. The announcement also explicitly frames the contract as contributing to the government's economic growth mission by supporting high skilled jobs and private sector investment in advanced defence technology.
What This Means for Troops and Operations
The practical implications of a deployable eLoran system include:
Operational Gains
- Continued navigation: Troops and vehicles can navigate accurately even when GPS is being jammed or spoofed by an adversary.
- Precision maintained: Guided weapons and drones that rely on accurate positioning data retain that accuracy in contested environments.
- Communications timing: Many military communications systems rely on precise timing signals derived from GPS. eLoran provides a resilient backup for that function.
- Deployable design: The programme specifically aims to produce a system that can be rapidly deployed to contested locations worldwide, not just fixed installations.
Context and Caveats
- Still in assessment phase: The programme has not yet produced a deployable system. Work is ongoing to define what troops actually need before engineering begins in earnest.
- Two year timeline: The target date for a deployable system is April 2028. Operational deployment across the force would likely come later.
- Builds on existing work: The MOD states the programme builds on prior investment in resilient navigation, meaning this is an acceleration and enhancement of existing work rather than a wholly new starting point.
- Export potential noted: The government specifically identified export potential for the technology, suggesting commercial and allied military applications beyond UK domestic use.
How This Fits the Government's Wider Defence Strategy
The announcement is consistent with commitments made in the government's Defence Industrial Strategy, which aims to foster sovereign capability in critical defence technologies by partnering with British industry rather than relying entirely on imported systems. The Urgent Compass contract brings together four companies, three of them UK based, which the government says is precisely the kind of industrial partnership the strategy is designed to create.
- Defence spending commitment: The government has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP from 2027, described as the largest sustained increase since the end of the Cold War.
- Sovereign capability: Developing eLoran domestically means the UK holds the intellectual property and can maintain and upgrade the system without dependence on foreign suppliers.
- Growth mission: The MOD frames the contract as catalysing private sector investment and supporting high skilled employment in the UK defence technology sector.
- Allied interoperability: eLoran technology is compatible with the systems of allied nations, meaning a UK deployable capability could also support NATO operations.
Conclusion: A Targeted Response to a Real and Growing Threat
The Urgent Compass programme addresses a specific and well documented vulnerability in modern military operations. GPS jamming and spoofing have become standard tools of adversaries in contemporary conflict, and a force that relies entirely on satellite navigation is exposed to disruption in exactly the environments where reliable navigation matters most.
The £6 million contract awarded to Team Elaris on 6 May 2026 is not a large sum by defence programme standards. But it is targeted at a problem that has significant operational consequences: if troops cannot navigate when signals are jammed, if guided weapons go off course, if communications systems lose their timing reference, the impact on military effectiveness is serious. eLoran, which uses powerful ground based signals that are far harder to block or fake than satellite transmissions, offers a credible and tested alternative.
The two year programme will run through an assessment phase before delivering a deployable system, targeted by April 2028. The government has been clear that this builds on existing work rather than starting from scratch, and that the ultimate aim is a system that can be moved rapidly to contested locations worldwide. Whether it delivers on that ambition on schedule remains to be seen, but the direction of travel is well grounded in a genuine operational need.
Key Takeaways
- The MOD announced on 6 May 2026 that a £6 million contract has been awarded to Team Elaris, led by QinetiQ, to develop jamming proof navigation technology for UK Armed Forces.
- The technology, called eLoran, uses powerful ground based transmitters rather than satellites, making it significantly more resistant to jamming and spoofing by adversaries.
- GPS jamming and spoofing are established tools in modern conflict, capable of misdirecting troops, sending guided weapons off course, and disrupting military communications.
- The two year Urgent Compass programme is currently in its assessment phase, with a deployable system targeted by April 2028.
- The programme is part of the government's wider Defence Industrial Strategy, designed to build sovereign UK capability in critical defence technologies and support high skilled jobs.