Safran Federal Systems, a U.S. Department of Defense mission partner and leader in Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (A-PNT), announced the successful flight demonstration of its Blacknaute™ Inertial Navigation System aboard a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

Purpose-built for multi-domain operations, Blacknaute™ delivers precise navigation in GPS-denied and electronic warfare-contested environments, fulfilling a critical need for resilient, open-architecture PNT capabilities across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains.

The live flight test confirmed Blacknaute’s ability to maintain high-accuracy inertial performance without GNSS support, validating operational readiness just days after its U.S. debut at the 2025 Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C.

“Our demonstration onboard the Army Black Hawk showcases the tactical readiness of Blacknaute™,”said Jon Leombrone, executive vice president of Navigation Systems at Safran Federal Systems. “The system maintained drift of less than 0.4 nautical miles per hour over several hours — proof of its SWaP-optimized, NAVWAR-resilient design engineered for rapid deployment across the Joint Force.”

Blacknaute™ combines multiple cutting-edge technologies in a rugged, lightweight system weighing less than 16 pounds. Key features include:

  • HRG Dual Core™ Technology: Safran’s patented hemispherical resonator gyro platform, fielded in more than 40,000 units and proven over 30 million operational hours across defense and aerospace applications
  • M-Code Ready GNSS Receiver: Supports secure, multi-constellation satellite navigation using military-grade M-Code signals
  • Ultra-Stable Atomic Clock: Provides highly precise timing with drift of less than one second every 30,000 years, ensuring reliable synchronization across mission systems
  • Interference Detection and Mitigation: Built-in capabilities for detecting and mitigating GPS spoofing and jamming threats, enhancing survivability in electronic warfare environments
  • Open Systems Architecture: Fully compliant with MIL-STD interfaces and TSO-C220 standards, enabling plug-and-play integration with modular open systems used across modern defense platforms.

Safran Federal Systems provides advanced, classified navigation and PNT solutions to Safran Defense & Space, Inc. (Safran DSI), accelerating innovation across multi-domain operations in support of U.S. defense programs.