Vyriy Develops Beacon Navigation for Drones as Alternative to GPS

The Ukrainian company Vyriy has developed a beacon module for its drones, enabling them to navigate using the beacon signal even when GPS and communication are jammed.

Vyriy’s CEO, Oleksii Babenko, shared this in an interview with Militarnyi.

A special board with an antenna is installed on the drone, and beacons are placed along the required flight paths.

The pilot of the beacon drone selects the route, after which the UAV flies autonomously.

“The pilot simply presses ‘fly here,’ and that’s it. They just watch the screen and don’t need to steer,” says Babenko.

The system consists of a network of radio transmitters installed on the ground or on various objects.

During flight, the drone captures signals from several beacons and determines its position.

The principle of operation is similar to GPS, but instead of satellites, ground-based beacons are used.

“No additional apps or complex connections are needed – just attach the board, and you have GPS coordinates,” adds Babenko.

Based on the signal strength or delay, the system calculates the distance to each beacon and then determines the drone’s coordinates.

The main reason for creating beacon drones was the use of electronic warfare systems that jam the traditional communication between the operator and the UAV. This system can also serve as an alternative to the use of fiber-optic drones, whose demand and prices are increasing.

Vyriy plans to present their beacons in April. Babenko noted that a similar board will also be installed on their tactical-range UAV, SOKIL.