Slingshot Aerospace’s GPS interference detection and geolocation software. Photo: Slingshot Aerospace

Slingshot Aerospace was awarded $1.9 million from the U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) to develop Slingshot’s GPS jamming and spoofing detection for international security, the company announced Jan.15.

The new program, PNT-SENTINEL (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing – Secure Electronic Navigation Threat Intelligence and Location), gives Slingshot funding to improve the company’s existing technology by incorporating geolocation and the AI model, Agatha, which helps identify abnormal spacecraft within large satellite constellations.

Slingshot was granted the PNT-SENTINEL contract under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 program by SpaceWERX.

As a part of the contract, Slingshot also plans to implement a pattern of life algorithms, expand multi-GNSS processing, interoperate with warfighter systems, and enhance the user interface. 

Slingshot Aerospace CEO, Tim Solms said: “In addition to military operations, the larger global community is also highly reliant on GPS, but jamming and spoofing may not discriminate between military and civilian users – meaning that functions of daily life like financial transactions and commercial air traffic control could also be affected.”

Slingshot shared a graphic showing GPS interference detection over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone as an example of its capabilities.