Skyband Taps Iridium To Mitigate GNSS Jamming and Spoofing

Skyband Taps Iridium To Handle GNSS Jamming, Spoofing

Independent system can help pilots navigate when avionics are compromised

Skyband Systems GPS Threat Map — Skyband Systems illustrates the GPS jamming and spoofing problem with its GPS Threat Map.

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

October 7, 2026

Skyband Systems is seeking an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) for a GPS jamming- and spoofing-resistant system that uses signals from the Iridium satellite network to provide an alternative navigation solution when global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are compromised. The Skyband M100 consists of an Iridium receiver coupled with an inertial sensor, and together the system could provide a backup navigation solution for the vulnerable and weak signals associated with GNSS.

“We’re getting the raw Iridium positioning,” said Skyband co-founder and president Robert Wiggenhorn, “and we’re fusing that with a high-quality IMU [inertial measurement unit]. What it’s doing is developing its own GPS-independent position solution.” At the same time, the M100 is looking at GNSS data on the aircraft’s Arinc 429 bus. “We’re comparing what the aircraft’s primary [nav system] now thinks its location is to our independent location, and if it sees a divergence, it flags that in two ways.”

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