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Defense

Harnessing resilient PNT for national defense

Amidst the surge of GPS/GNSS attacks, including jamming, spoofing, receiver hacking, and even the potential physical destruction of satellites by hostile entities, national defense communication networks must protect against potential disruptions to positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services. These attacks are more than just technological challenges; they pose serious national security risks since GPS/GNSS is the only source of crucial PNT services for defense infrastructure. Recognizing this vulnerability, global resilient PNT mandates have emerged, with the US Federal Executive Order 13905 leading the charge in endorsing the IEEE P1952 Resilient PNT for User Equipment standard. To address this challenge, the adoption of robust PNT solutions, bolstered by zero-trust multi-source and AI-assisted management technology, has become essential. Such advanced timing solutions hold the promise of reaching the gold standard of six 9s reliability for defense-in-depth PNT services in battlefield networks and all-domain military operations on land, sea, air and space.

Mitigating GPS/GNSS vulnerabilities

Relying solely on GPS/GNSS exposes PNT data to disruptions; Oscilloquartz’s secured timing solutions combat these vulnerabilities.
While DoD/MoD will of course continue to support the GNSS satellites constellations ... we also need to find alternatives for military use that are more resilient and less vulnerable.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

Empowering military frameworks with assured timing

Assured timing solutions enhance both JADC2 and C5ISR, ensuring swift and synchronized management of vital defense resources.

Oscilloquartz ePRTCs: the evolution of defense time clocks

Disruptions in GPS/GNSS connectivity pose significant challenges to critical military communication systems. To address this, enhanced primary reference time clocks (ePRTCs) have been introduced, reducing dependency on satellite-delivered timing and offering superior performance compared to traditional PRTC systems. At Oscilloquartz, we’ve taken this advancement to the next level. Our optical cesium-based Super ePRTC showcases unmatched features such as industry-leading time/phase holdover of 100ns for typically 55 days and up to 1µs over a typical four-month span during GPS/GNSS outages. While traditional PRTCs target accuracy within 100ns of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), our next-gen time clocks achieve precision better than 30ns. As a result, the ePRTCs and Super ePRTCs in our portfolio are setting new standards in stability, accuracy and reliability for core clocks in military infrastructures.

Multi-source clocks

Oscilloquartz core and edge grandmaster clocks can leverage up to five independent timing sources to create a single super-resilient and highly reliable clock source aligned with the zero-trust PNT architecture.

Building a robust zero-trust defense framework with aPNT+™

Relying solely on GPS/GNSS for PNT leaves critical defense infrastructure dangerously vulnerable. To tackle this, our technology provides a solid foundation for a resilient zero-trust (ZT) environment. With the launch of our enhanced aPNT+™ suite, we’re setting new standards in protection for networks dependent on PNT services. This suite is not just about countering GNSS vulnerabilities; it brings intelligent threat detection and mitigation to the forefront. Enhanced with unique algorithms, it offers improved jamming and spoofing detection to ensure maximum resilience. This is achieved by leveraging multiple timing sources, detecting disturbances and ensuring the uninterrupted flow of vital PNT services. Furthermore, our upgraded synchronization solutions include advanced jamming and spoofing detection, multi-band GNSS receiver support and superior protection against cyberattacks. Central to this offering is the notion of a Trusted Core, fortified by our comprehensive timing solutions which emphasize precision and reliability, making critical defense communication both secure and efficient.

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