SharpNav: Reinventing navigation from low Earth orbit
SharpNav: Reinventing navigation from low Earth orbit
As jamming and spoofing incidents increase across Europe, the limits of legacy navigation systems are being exposed. The solution from SharpNav is a low Earth orbit satellite constellation built for resilience.
In April 2024, Finnair temporarily suspended flights to Tartu in Estonia after multiple GPS interference incidents made landings unsafe. Baltic authorities linked the disruption to signal jamming originating near Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad.
This was not an isolated incident. Across Northern Europe, airlines and pilots have reported increasing levels of interference affecting Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) – the umbrella term for systems such as GPS and Galileo. Signal jamming has become a persistent operational concern.
For the founders of Finnish startup SharpNav, these disturbances are evidence of a structural weakness in the architecture of satellite navigation itself. SharpNav’s solution is to develop a new navigation payload for satellites operating in low Earth orbit (LEO) – roughly between 600 and 1,000 kilometres above the planet.
“Traditional navigation satellites orbit around 20,000 kilometres above Earth. Their signals are extremely weak when reaching the ground, making them vulnerable to jamming and spoofing,” explains SharpNav co-founder and CEO, Mikko Punnala.
“Existing GNSS systems were built decades ago for a different geopolitical environment. If you want resilience, you have to change the approach. This is what SharpNav is doing by deploying navigation satellites in low Earth orbit, where signals are significantly stronger and far harder to disrupt,” he says.
Pivoting to satellite positioning
SharpNav did not begin with plans to launch satellites. Founded by four PhD researchers at the University of Vaasa, the team was originally working on a patented antenna concept designed to improve signal reception from existing GNSS systems.
The turning point came when SharpNav joined the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC). The team received early-stage funding, as well as technical and business guidance that helped them to reassess the company’s long-term direction. The result was a strategic pivot to developing a proprietary navigation payload and SharpNav’s own LEO satellites.
“When the European Space Agency backs you, it sends a strong message,” Punnala notes. “It shows that this is not just an interesting idea, but a credible technology with real strategic relevance.”
SharpNav is now developing its first satellite as a technology demonstrator, with the goal of validating signal generation and transmission performance in orbit. The target is to launch later in 2026. Longer term, the company’s ambition is to deploy a constellation of satellites.
“We are first looking at providing regional coverage across the Nordics with up to six satellites, before scaling to 50 for European-wide deployment. We’d ultimately like to expand towards a global network of up to 300 satellites,” says Punnala.
Applications across multiple industries
While aviation disruption makes the risks of satellite interference visible and unsettling, the implications of signal jamming extend much further. Defence and critical infrastructure protection are obvious applications for SharpNav’s technology, but the company is deliberately building a dual-use platform with broad civilian relevance.
Autonomous vehicles are one example. Advanced sensors and onboard systems can compensate for short disruptions, but high-integrity satellite positioning remains critical for safe operation. This is especially important as vehicles transition from assisted driving to full autonomy.
“Autonomous systems will become widespread and reliable positioning will be critical. If the underlying signal is unstable, the entire system is affected,” says Punnala.
Indoor locations present an additional limitation for traditional GNSS systems, with signals struggling to penetrate hospitals, industrial facilities and underground spaces. SharpNav’s LEO system is designed to improve signal strength in these environments.
Precision agriculture is another area where accuracy directly affects productivity. Modern machinery relies on high-precision positioning to optimize planting, fertilization and harvesting across large-scale operations.
“For some businesses, positioning is the bottleneck,” Punnala explains. “They cannot automate or expand because the navigation layer is simply not reliable enough.”
“We are not eliminating jamming – that is unrealistic,” observes Punnala. “What we are building is a space-based system that continues to function when interference is present, while also delivering stronger performance in environments where legacy GNSS signals degrade.”
- More about SharpNav: sharpnav.com
- More about ESA BIC Finalnd: esabic.fi
About ESA BIC Finland ESA BIC Finland, coordinated by the Aalto University Startup Center, is a business incubator that propels space-related entrepreneurial ventures through strategic support, networking, and funding.
