Hypersonic Vehicle Intelligent Alternative Navigation

At hypersonic speeds, the formation of a plasma sheath around the vehicle severely inhibits radio-frequency (RF) communication, telemetry, and reception of GPS signals. This ionized layer also obstructs the use of electro-optical and infrared imaging sensors for navigation, rendering conventional systems ineffective. To address the Navy’s critical need for a resilient navigation solution capable of supporting the entire flight trajectory of hypersonic vehicles under GPS-denied conditions, in Phase I, Intellisense Systems, Inc. (Intellisense) successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the Hypersonic Vehicle Intelligent Alternative Navigation (HYVIAN) system—an innovative, fully autonomous, and closed-loop navigation architecture. HYVIAN delivers drift-free, GPS-level positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) accuracy—within ~6 meters (~18 feet) circular error probable—without any reliance on GPS, throughout the full flight path, including the terminal phase, as specified by Navy requirements. The core innovation of HYVIAN lies in its exploitation of local gradients in geophysical fields—such as Earth’s magnetic and gravitational fields—that penetrate plasma sheaths, unlike GPS or other RF signals. These real-time field measurements are fused with high-resolution geophysical maps using a Bayesian nonlinear filter framework to estimate precise navigation states. The system further incorporates artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) algorithms to enhance estimation accuracy and robustness. HYVIAN outputs GPS-compatible position (longitude, latitude, and altitude), heading, and attitude (roll, pitch, and yaw) at a high update rate of 2,000 Hz, achieving attitude accuracy on the order of ~1 arcmin. The architecture is designed to meet stringent size, weight, and power constraints using advanced microelectromechanical systems sensors and fiber-optic gyroscopes. During Phase I, Intellisense developed and validated key system concepts and conducted detailed modeling, simulation, and a preliminary experimental demonstration to verify HYVIAN’s ability to meet the Navy’s navigation accuracy requirements, even under terminal flight conditions. Simulations were executed across three representative Navy operational scenarios to evaluate system performance. An initial prototype design was also developed, with preliminary hardware and software specifications defined for Phase II. In Phase II, Intellisense will fabricate, integrate, and test a functional HYVIAN prototype, progressing toward full system validation under operationally relevant test conditions that approximate hypersonic flight environments.