AQNav

No GPS? No Problem.
‍Unjammable, Unspoofable, Day/Night, All-Weather, Terrain Agnostic, Passive Technology

GPS denial, jamming and spoofing are a growing global concern, jeopardizing aircraft and passenger safety, disrupting commercial and military operations, and affecting the reliability of essential services.

AQNav is SandboxAQ’s breakthrough dual-use magnetic navigation system for Assured Positioning Navigation and Timing (APNT). Leveraging powerful quantum sensors, proprietary AI algorithms, and Earth’s crustal magnetic field, AQNav delivers an unjammable, all-weather, terrain agnostic, passive technology, APNT solution where GPS signals are unavailable, denied, or spoofed.
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Groundbreaking Technology Takes to the Skies

SandboxAQ delivers the first dual-use magnetic navigation system, providing live position information during uncontrolled, operational flights with a unique roll-on, roll-off capability, delivering real-time positional data directly to an iPad on a U.S. Air Force (USAF) aircraft.
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In 2023, the USAF awarded SandboxAQ a Direct-to-Phase-II Small Business Innovation Research contract to explore magnetic anomaly navigation. We successfully completed the first flight tests of the AQNav system eight months ahead of schedule. We have the largest publicly known database for Magnetic Navigation. To date, AQNav has logged more than 200 flight-hours and more than 40 sorties on four different aircraft types, ranging in size from a single engine private plane to large military transport aircraft. Additional flight tests are scheduled. Read about our participation in the USAF’s Exercise Golden Phoenix and Exercise Mobility Guardian – Air Mobility Command's largest exercise ever at the time.

In addition to the USAF, AQNav has garnered interest from several aircraft manufacturers, including Boeing and Acubed – the Silicon Valley research and innovation center of Airbus – and other allied governments, which are in various stages of testing the technology.

“This is the first point of attack – how to disrupt the enemy’s ability to use GPS and similar systems. Systems like AQNav are absolutely essential to address this critical vulnerability.”

U.S. Navy Admiral (ret.) John Richardson

“As a licensed jet pilot with many hours of flight time, I appreciate how much we rely on GPS for navigation. The global civilian airspace relies upon this system. Given the ease of jamming and spoofing GPS, it is critical to have a global supplementary navigation system that works with inertial systems – this is what SandboxAQ has developed with AQNav.”

Eric Schmidt, Chairman, SandboxAQ

“We must embrace the realities of what it will take to maneuver the Joint force in a degraded and contested environment. Improving the Mobility Air Force’s navigation is one of the four major gaps we have focused on closing. Doing so requires innovative technological solutions to improve survivability and extend our ability to deliver victory.”

General Mike Minihan, Commander, Air Mobility Command (AMC)

“The need for GPS alternatives is critical. If we’re executing a mission where GPS is not available, it's important to have another solution to ensure mission continuity and ensure a safe exit and return to base for our Airmen.”

Major Patrick Morgan, Wing Tactics

How AQNav Works

AQNav uses extremely sensitive quantum magnetometers to acquire data from Earth’s crustal magnetic field, which exhibits geographically unique and immutable patterns – similar to a human fingerprint.

Proprietary AI algorithms compare this data against known magnetic maps, enabling the system to quickly and accurately find its position. Due to the high sensitivity of quantum sensors, AI algorithms are applied to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, removing any mechanical, electrical, or other interference that would impact the system’s ability to acquire its location.

Unjammable/Unspoofable Worldwide Signal: Because Earth's crustal magnetic field is omnipresent and unjammable, it provides unfettered access and a persistent, trusted signal from any location.
All-Weather: AQNav is not influenced by weather or lighting conditions, making it an effective complement to other navigation techniques.
Terrain Agnostic: AQNav does not require visual ground features, making it a valuable tool for navigation in the air, over open water, on remote terrain, even underwater or underground.
Passive Technology: AQNav passively receives geomagnetic data and does not emit or reflect any signals, which helps reduce a vehicle’s detectability.
Versatile, Adaptable Technology: AQNav operates at room temperature, requires no shielding, and has a modular architecture that can be integrated into a wide variety of platforms, from single-engine planes to multi-engine airliners.
Seamless Integration: AQNav can interface with existing navigation systems, including inertial, visual, satellite, and other emerging technologies, creating a “system of systems” approach to ensure safe and accurate navigation.

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