ANELLO Photonics and Delta Black Aerospace have entered a collaboration to integrate high-performance inertial navigation technology into Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) designed for GPS-denied and contested environments.
The partnership focuses on the integration and evaluation of ANELLO’s optical inertial navigation systems with Delta Black’s UAS. These systems utilize Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOG) technology to provide assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) performance. This capability is increasingly critical for missions where GPS signals are degraded or unavailable due to electronic warfare, terrain occlusion, or specific operational constraints.
As uncrewed aircraft face rising risks from GPS jamming and spoofing, the industry is seeing a higher demand for reliable navigation solutions that do not rely on external satellite signals. ANELLO’s photonics-based technology offers low-drift inertial navigation within a compact, solid-state form factor. This design is specifically engineered for uncrewed and autonomous platforms that are constrained by Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C).
Dr. Mario Paniccia, co-founder and CEO of ANELLO Photonics, commented, “For uncrewed systems, assured navigation without reliance on GPS is no longer optional. This collaboration with Delta Black Aerospace focuses on integrating ANELLO’s photonics-based inertial navigation at the platform level to support sustained autonomous operation in contested and denied environments.”
Delta Black Aerospace, a manufacturer of mission-focused UAS, designs platforms for demanding profiles including long-endurance and long-range flights. The two companies will work to optimize navigation accuracy and autonomy during extended operations. This is intended to support various mission sets such as Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), contested logistics, and autonomous operations in restricted airspace.
Jeff Lydecker, CTO of Delta Black Aerospace, stated, “Navigation resilience directly impacts mission effectiveness for uncrewed aircraft. Integrating ANELLO’s high-performance inertial navigation enables our platforms to maintain accurate state estimation and autonomous operation, even when GPS is unavailable or compromised.”
This initiative aligns with Department of War priorities regarding resilient autonomy and assured PNT. By reducing dependence on GPS, the collaboration supports future concepts for distributed, multi-domain uncrewed operations in high-threat environments.
