Oleh Chernysh, BBC News Ukraine
The technological race during the Russian-Ukrainian war forces both sides to seek solutions to ensure the operation of their drone systems. One area of exploration is navigation in conditions where neither satellite nor radio communication is functional. Ideas on how to solve this problem already exist.
Every Kyiv driver can attest to how dependent modern humans are on online navigation, especially those whose smartphones, instead of showing them in the Borshchahivka district, insist they are in Lima, Peru.
This is how spoofing works, or substituting satellite coordinates with fake ones. Often, this signal is simply blocked.
During the war in Ukraine and Russia, jamming and substitution of satellite and mobile signals are widely used, not only around military facilities. Entire regions can suffer from such actions.
This is done to disrupt or completely silence navigation devices installed on missiles and drones.
Without accurately determining their location, they cannot orient in space, usually leading to missing the target or crashing.
Search for New Navigation
Modern warfare is gradually moving away from the concept where a drone is constantly controlled by an operator via a stable radio channel, explains Major Ihor Bohdan, head of the Center for Innovations and Technologies of the 7th Corps of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to BBC News Ukraine.
The only way out is to increase the autonomy of drone systems, including in navigation.
According to Bohdan, a promising approach is combining several independent navigation methods, such as an inertial system of high-precision cameras with computer vision algorithms, as well as other onboard sensors from which the system continuously receives information and determines its position.
It is especially important to develop visual navigation and machine vision when GPS is unavailable, allowing drones to rely on computer vision and machine navigation data.
Another promising development is the creation of mesh networks for a general drone operation system, where drones “communicate” with each other by interacting and transmitting radio signals.
Russia is actively using this technology for strikes with their drones, such as the reactive “Shaheds,” on the northern and western regions of Ukraine.
All these are expensive and complex systems of alternative navigation.
Moreover, visual navigation depends on the weather, notes the advisor to the President of Ukraine on technological issues, Serhii Beskrestnov (“Flash”).
The most promising, in his opinion, is navigation based on the irregularities of the Earth’s magnetic field. The most advanced companies in the world are currently working on it, but it is not yet ready for mass application, he emphasizes.
However, there is another system, simple, cheap, and effective.
Although it was invented almost 100 years ago for ordinary aircraft, it has proven helpful now – for unmanned aviation.
What are navigation beacons
This refers to the so-called “beacon network.”
Its idea is quite simple—if the enemy jams the signal from GNSS satellites (Global Navigation Satellite System, which determines the exact coordinates, speed, and time of any object on Earth), which comes from above, then certain points need to be created that would provide such a signal from below.
For this, special small devices—radio beacons—are installed or dropped from the air over a certain area. Their coordinates are known, so when a drone flies in this area, it receives coordinates from several beacons and the time of signal passage to the receiver.
Then, regular geometry: the UAV calculates its own position in space, having data on the distance to the beacon and altitude above the ground.
This technology began to be tested on the front for individual UAV missions a few years ago, but it may scale up soon.
For example, it enables Ukrainian drones to fly over Russian territory when there is no satellite signal.
In December 2025, Russia announced the testing of a prototype of its own “extremely accurate” system without satellite navigation called “Ariadna.”
It is built on beacons, which, according to developers, allow positioning with an error of up to 15-20 cm. That is, the claimed accuracy should be 8 times better than GPS.
According to “Flash,” this system is being developed, and Russia is now considering options to install it on both “Shaheds” and KABs and missiles.
The system will allow Russian UAVs to orient 100 km into Ukrainian territory.
“And this is effectively the ability to accurately attack a huge part of Ukraine,” notes “Flash.”
Ukraine is also working on its own beacon navigation.
At least in July 2026, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Andrii Lebedenko reported that a pilot project of the “beacon network” showed its effectiveness in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
The network had good results, so it was decided to scale it up across the entire territory of Ukraine, he said.
It is expected that after deployment, the system will assist not only drones but also small aviation, interceptor drones, and various sensors used by the Defense Forces.
Who is involved
According to the BBC, several manufacturers within the leadership of the Ukrainian defense industry are developing their own beacon navigation systems simultaneously.
Some of these, such as Sine.Engineering and Vyriy Industries, have already publicly announced their projects.
Moreover, Russian specialized Telegram channels reported that during 2025-26, Sine.Link radio beacons from Sine.Engineering were found in occupied territories and even in Russia.
Andriy Chulyk, co-founder and CEO of Sine.Engineering, told the BBC that he cannot comment on the matter “due to high sensitivity and security risks.”
However, he confirmed that his company has been working on a beacon network “regularly and for quite some time.”
“The beacon network is a crucial project for the country, capable of fueling and enhancing drone missions along the entire front line. This is what we call a technological advantage – an entire infrastructure within which our solutions for communication and navigation will work truly effectively,” said Chulyk.
In his opinion, creating this network is a “fundamental project for the country.”
One of the promising developments by the company is a system called “Pasika.” Based on Sine.Link radio modules, it can automatically deliver groups of drones to a target area in radio silence mode, even under conditions of jamming or absence of satellite signal.
Such an autonomous “swarm of drones” cannot be detected or effectively intercepted by the enemy in advance. In the area where this group arrives, the operator can take over control of the drones and assign the necessary targets. They return to their starting position autonomously.
“In my opinion, the future is not about just finding one technology that ‘replaces GPS.’ It involves creating a resilient multi-layered navigation infrastructure allowing unmanned systems to complete tasks even in environments where GNSS is unavailable or unreliable,” noted Chulyk.
What does this provide?
Edward Lysenko, development director of defense technology company Vyriy Industries, told the BBC more about the aspects of using beacon navigation.
Back in March 2026, its management announced the development of their own beacon modules, allowing UAVs to fly on signal even when GPS and communication are jammed.
According to Lysenko, the system is currently in the stage of combat testing. This means some defense force units are testing the effectiveness of UAVs with such navigation on specific missions and certain front sections.
A representative of Vyriy Industries explains that beacon navigation currently does not provide the necessary accuracy for large-scale missions. According to him, the current error range is 50-150 meters.
So far, this technology is primarily used for logistics missions and reconnaissance. It not only allows operation without satellite communication but also ensures the autonomous return of the drone “home.”
Among the issues, Eduard Lysenko mentions the difficulties in installing these beacons. Under challenging conditions, the military needs to place these devices over long distances and at high points (trees, towers, masts), change batteries periodically, and more.
“In the future, we plan, if everything goes well, to deploy our own network of beacons so that they work autonomously and units don’t have to set them up themselves, as this is also a problem. The greater the distance between the beacons, the higher the accuracy,” explains the development director.
Regarding missions on Russian territory, he explains: if a beacon is installed near the border on the Ukrainian side, it will provide UAV navigation up to 100 km. This is sufficient for some missions behind enemy lines.
“The beacons are placed on our territory, but the aircraft flies into enemy territory. This allows the drone to fly there (to Russian territory – Ed.) and have navigation, albeit with some error,” notes Lysenko.
The radio beacons themselves can be jammed, but it’s difficult to do, he adds.
Cover image: A Ukrainian soldier prepares a “Shark” drone for launch. Photo: Ukrspecsystems
