Honeywell Tests Magnetic Navigation in GPS-free Flight

Honeywell Aerospace and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the Pentagon’s commercial technology arm, have completed a flight test of a quantum-sensor-based navigation system. An Embraer 170 test aircraft, guided by the experimental navigation system, flew over the Pacific Ocean for 4 hours 23 minutes without GPS, DIU announced on September 4.

Flying under DIU’s MagNav magnetic navigation program, the airplane made a round trip from Everett Paine Field (KPAE) north of Seattle to the Gulf of Alaska. Without using satellites, the quantum-sensor system delivered position accuracy 89% better than conventional backup navigation would have achieved, DIU said.

Pilots viewed the navigation interface on standard tablets rather than through the aircraft’s installed avionics—a detail DIU cites as evidence that operators could adopt the system without extensive flight-deck overhauls.

Magnetic navigation relies on quantum magnetometers that detect subtle variations in Earth’s magnetic field caused by the composition of the planet’s crust, then cross-reference those readings against a magnetic map to pinpoint an aircraft’s location. Because the reference signal comes from the ground rather than a satellite constellation, DIU claims it cannot be jammed or spoofed.

“This is a significant win for the department’s quantum sensing priorities, showcasing that MagNav capabilities are no longer a distant research goal,” said Kyle Norman, deputy director of DIU’s Kill Web portfolio. “We moved from problem sourcing to solicitation to prototype in a matter of months.”

DIU launched the MagNav program in spring 2024—initially under the name “Transition of Quantum Sensing”—and fielded 72 proposals through a commercial solutions opening before choosing Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace to build a prototype. Honeywell announced in July 2025 that it had won two contracts tied to the program: one to develop MagNav algorithms and a second, with Vector Atomic, to develop quantum inertial measurement units. A demonstration on a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport is expected later this year, according to DIU.

Speaking at an AIN roundtable in August, Honeywell Aerospace offering director for alternative navigation products Ben Mohr said quantum magnetometers are already small enough to install on aircraft and are commercially available, while quantum inertial sensors remain too large for airborne use. “Those are not science fiction,” Mohr said of the magnetometers. “You can buy them today. They’re not cheap, but you can order one.”

Honeywell isn’t the only company pursuing this approach. Q-CTRL, an Australian quantum technology firm, says it demonstrated a working magnetic navigation system in 2024 and that its Ironstone Opal system has since become the first quantum-navigation system to reach airworthiness qualification as a GPS backup. Airbus and Lockheed Martin are both investors and partners in the effort.