Astronomical navigation at the heart of Naval Group’s partnership with Starnav!

Innovation

Magazine - News

Tech

Like Magellan in the early 16th century, we can still navigate by the stars. A centuries-old skill refined by the Tang Dynasty in China and used by European navigators, who reached the majority of Asian and American territories within a few decades. Celestial navigation is once again the forefront of innovation and our new partnership with the French SME Starnav is a testament to this renewed interest in the technology.

Experts from Naval Group and Starnav have combined their expertise to deploy the Magellan system, a solution that calculates the exact position of a vessel, both day and night, using celestial bodies (the sun and stars), without human intervention or a visible horizon.
 

The aim?

The aim is to meet the increasing need for navigation in “denied areas”, where GPS (Global Positioning System) or GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals are lost or jammed. Designed to complement all the systems and sensors fitted on board the vessels, the Magellan system provides sailors with the broadest possible range of technological solutions to address adversary jamming and spoofing threats. 

How does it work?

This system works by recognising star patterns as seen from Earth: a wide-angle camera takes a picture and AI-based algorithms detect and recognise the stars or the sun using databases. A complex navigation filter then combines celestial and inertial data to determine the vessel’s position with a high degree of accuracy.

In a manner of speaking, our sailors can still navigate by the stars just like Magellan in the early 16th century!


Why Starnav ? 

This collaboration aims to accelerate the integration of the innovative technology developed by French SME Starnav. The agreement includes the joint development of interfaces to integrate the Magellan system into the surface ships designed by Naval Group. The system will be tested at sea with the French Navy with the first trials of the astro-inertial navigation system scheduled for 2027. Our teams will integrate the system into a Naval Group demonstrator that uses multiple positioning sources independent of GNSS.

Recognised by the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), the French Defence Innovation Agency (AID) and NATO as a high value-added SME, Starnav is now collaborating with Naval Group.