Rebecca Spayne caught up with Darren Fisher of Honeywell Aerospace at UDT earlier this year to explore mission effectiveness
The conversations taking place across both UDT and ITEC at ExCeL London this year reflected a defence sector grappling with a common challenge: how platforms continue to navigate, operate and maintain mission effectiveness when traditional positioning systems become unavailable.
Few companies are better positioned to discuss that challenge than Honeywell Aerospace. With decades of experience in navigation, sensing and positioning technologies, the company has been at the forefront of developing solutions capable of supporting operations in some of the world’s most demanding environments.
During UDT and ITEC, I sat down with Darren Fisher, Senior Sales Director from Honeywell Aerospace to discuss the growing significance of inertial sensing technologies, the challenge of operating in GNSS denied environments, and the company’s latest innovations in subsea navigation.
Why is inertial sensing becoming increasingly important?
Navigation has long been one of the most fundamental requirements of any military platform. Whether operating in the air, on land, at sea or beneath the surface, commanders require confidence that their systems know precisely where they are and where they are heading. According to Fisher, this is precisely where Honeywell’s expertise lies.
“We are one of the world’s largest suppliers of inertial sensing technologies,” he explained. “These are sensors that measure motion in the X, Y and Z axes, as well as rotational information. They allow a platform to understand its position and movement, particularly when GNSS is unavailable.”
While satellite navigation has transformed military operations over recent decades, Fisher highlighted that there are numerous operational environments where GNSS simply cannot be relied upon.
“That could be because of jamming, it could be because you’re indoors like we are here at ExCeL, or it could be because you’re operating underground or underwater,” he said. “In the underwater environment there is no GNSS signal at all, which is why inertial navigation remains so important.”
As military planners increasingly prepare for contested environments, the ability to navigate independently of satellite systems is becoming a critical operational requirement rather than a niche capability.
What technology is Honeywell proudly showcasing at the moment?
One of the key technologies on display at UDT was Honeywell’s latest MEMS based inertial measurement unit, designed to deliver levels of performance previously associated with more expensive and complex navigation technologies.
Fisher described the system as a significant milestone for the company.
“What we’re showing here is our new MEMS inertial sensor technology,” he said. “We launched it at Oceanology only a few weeks ago and it really pushes the boundaries of what MEMS technology can achieve.”
MEMS, or Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, have become increasingly important within defence and aerospace applications due to their compact size, reliability and reduced cost compared with traditional alternatives. Historically, however, the highest levels of navigational performance were often associated with fibre optic gyro systems.
According to Fisher, Honeywell’s latest development narrows that gap considerably. “We’re now pushing MEMS technology into areas where previously only fibre optic gyros were really operating,” he explained.
The implications are significant for operators seeking highly accurate navigation capability without the size, weight and power requirements traditionally associated with higher end systems.
What is gyrocompassing and why does it matter?
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Honeywell’s demonstration was the company’s ability to perform gyrocompassing using MEMS technology. For many visitors to the show, this represented a notable technical achievement.
“What we’re demonstrating live is something called gyrocompassing,” Fisher explained. “This is really the first time we’ve been able to show this capability using MEMS technology, and at the moment it’s a unique product.”
At its core, gyrocompassing allows a navigation system to determine its orientation relative to true north without relying on external references. Rather than using magnetic fields, the technology measures the Earth’s rotational movement.
“The system can sense the Earth’s 15 degree per hour rotation,” Fisher said. “By understanding which components of that rotation are being detected by the sensors, it can determine which direction it’s facing.”
The result is highly accurate heading information that is independent of magnetic influences.
This offers significant advantages in maritime and subsea applications where conventional compasses may encounter limitations.
“Magnetic compasses work perfectly well in many situations,” Fisher noted. “But they’re affected by heavy metal structures. If you move close to an oil rig, for example, you can introduce errors. In the defence world, operating near another vessel can create similar challenges.”
Because Honeywell’s solution measures the Earth’s rotational forces directly, it remains unaffected by those local magnetic disturbances.
“It’s entirely self-contained,” Fisher said. “That allows us to provide very accurate heading information and maintain that accuracy over extended periods of time.”
How does this support subsea operations?
For the underwater community attending UDT, the practical implications were immediately clear. Subsea platforms operate in an environment where satellite navigation simply does not exist. Maintaining accurate positioning over long periods therefore becomes a critical challenge.
According to Fisher, Honeywell’s technology has been specifically developed with these operational realities in mind.
“Once you’re subsea, you need to be able to continue navigating for extended periods of time,” he explained. “With this type of technology, we’re talking about hours and potentially days of operation while maintaining highly accurate positioning information.”
As autonomous underwater vehicles, remotely operated systems and subsea infrastructure continue to grow in strategic importance, accurate navigation remains one of the foundational technologies enabling those capabilities.
Without reliable positioning, many of the advanced autonomous concepts currently being explored across defence and commercial sectors would face significant operational limitations.
