Iridium Announces Commercial Availability of Iridium PNT ASIC, Bringing Resilient GNSS Protection to Devices Worldwide

Ultra-compact chip delivers trusted positioning, navigation, and timing resilience amid rising spoofing and jamming threats

MCLEAN, Va., July 14, 2026 /CNW/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM), a leading provider of global voice, data, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite services, today announced the commercial availability of the Iridium PNT ASIC, a first-to-market chip designed to help protect GPS- and GNSS-dependent devices from jamming, spoofing, and other growing threats.

Iridium PNT ASIC

Since the Iridium PNT ASIC's unveiling in October 2025, Iridium has received unprecedented demand from more than 150 organizations worldwide, spanning maritime, unmanned and autonomous systems (UXV), aviation, telecommunications, and other critical infrastructure sectors.

"The market response to the Iridium PNT ASIC has reinforced what we're hearing from customers around the world: assured PNT is becoming an essential capability across critical industries," said Dr. Michael O'Connor, executive vice president, PNT, Iridium. "With commercial availability, we're enabling manufacturers to integrate trusted timing and location capabilities into smaller, more efficient designs, making assured PNT accessible to more applications than ever before."

Measuring just 8 by 8 millimeters and weighing less than 0.2 grams, the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) represents a major step forward in expanding access to assured PNT technologies at scale. The chip delivers cryptographically secure timing and location data from the Iridium satellite network through one-way signal bursts that are powerful enough to work where traditional GNSS often cannot, including inside structures and in contested environments.

By continuously validating signal integrity and delivering trusted PNT data anywhere on Earth, the Iridium PNT ASIC provides a powerful new foundation not only for resilient navigation, but also timing. Financial markets, telecommunications networks, power grids, and governments all depend on precise time synchronization to coordinate operations and maintain reliable service.

As global reliance on GNSS continues to grow, so does the frequency and sophistication of signal interference such as jamming and spoofing. Recent incidents including the May 2026 in-flight jamming of United Kingdom Defence Secretary John Healey highlight increasing operational and safety risks associated with GNSS spoofing and jamming across commercial transportation, aviation, and critical infrastructure environments. According to a 2019 study sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a GPS outage was estimated to cost the U.S. economy approximately $1 billion per day. Adjusted for inflation, that figure would exceed $1.3 billion per day in 2026, underscoring the growing importance of reliable backup solutions.

Compact Assured PNT Integration Underway

Solace Communications, a provider of mission-critical communications solutions for demanding and remote environments, is one of several Iridium partners integrating the Iridium PNT ASIC. Its Vector family of assured PNT products combines Iridium PNT with multi-band GNSS and inertial sensing to deliver resilient positioning, navigation, and timing with continuous confidence scoring, while LTE and Iridium Short Burst Data^® (SBD^®) provide secure telemetry and messaging.

"The Iridium PNT ASIC supports our wider strategy of building one of the first edge-native, confidence-scored assured PNT platforms around multiple sources of positioning, timing, and motion data," said Adam Elcock, co-founder, Solace Communications. "Future navigation systems must do more than report a position. They must continuously determine whether that position and its timing can be trusted. That is the role Vector has been designed to fulfill and is now being deployed."

Skyband Systems, a developer of aviation-grade, PNT-resilient navigation hardware, will integrate the Iridium PNT ASIC into its M100 LRU for business and commercial aviation. The M100 combines Iridium PNT with onboard inertial sensing to alert crews to GNSS jamming and spoofing while providing aircraft location for enhanced situational awareness.

"Iridium's secure and powerful global service is the perfect platform for Skyband's resilient navigation product," said Robert Wiggenhorn, co-founder, Skyband Systems. "We are excited to partner with Iridium as they launch the Iridium PNT ASIC and look forward to further strengthening their legacy of aircraft innovation and safety."

Iridium continues to engage with developers, original equipment manufacturers, integrators, and technology providers to incorporate assured PNT capabilities into next-generation solutions. Those interested in ordering the Iridium PNT ASIC are encouraged to visit www.iridium.com/pnt/asic.

About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) operates the world's only truly global mobile satellite network. It serves as a platform for innovation, enabling voice, data, and messaging, positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), and aircraft surveillance services anywhere on Earth. Through its satellite constellation and integrated capabilities like Aireon, the world's only space-based air traffic surveillance system, Iridium delivers services that support safety-focused operations across aviation, maritime, government, industrial, and consumer markets. The company is a leader in satellite Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and is advancing direct-to-device (D2D) communications based on open standards to expand access to satellite services.

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Iridium innovates through an ecosystem of more than 500 technology and distribution partners, serving millions of customers worldwide. For more information visit www.iridium.com.

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SOURCE Iridium Communications Inc.