UK invests in satellite-timing infrastructure

GMV has been selected through a competitive tender to enhance the UK’s national capability in providing assured, secure and continuous Position, Navigation and Time (PNT) services for critical infrastructure, defence requirements and the wider economy. The company is leading the design, development and testing of a Two‑Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer (TWSTFT) system under the TOUCAN (TWSTFT Capability Demonstration) project. The programme is funded by the UK Space Agency, supported by the UK National PNT Office, and managed through ESA’s navigation programme, NAVISP.

The TOUCAN project further strengthens GMV’s position in advanced time and frequency solutions, drawing on the company’s established expertise in time transfer and systems engineering. It supports the Government’s Framework for Greater PNT Resilience, which aims to ensure secure and verifiable timing sources across the UK’s critical sectors.

Strategic milestone
Mark Dumville, general manager at GMV in the UK, said: “TOUCAN represents a strategic milestone for GMV. It underscores our commitment to delivering cutting-edge, nationally assured, PNT solutions that are vital to the UK’s critical infrastructure and national security.”

TOUCAN complements national efforts to reintroduce an Enhanced Long‑Range Navigation (eLoran) system as a terrestrial alternative to satellite-based services. A key objective is to ensure the eLoran system operates independently of GNSS, which remains vulnerable to interference and disruption. The TWSTFT system aims to deliver an accurate and independently verifiable link between the eLoran transmitter and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s official timekeeping authority, ensuring that timing remains traceable to UTC (NPL) without reliance on GNSS.

The system will also establish a TWSTFT link to a facility operating an R&D timescale, providing a secure reference designed to support future synchronisation requirements, communications integrity and other mission‑critical applications. This second link is intended to form part of a broader national timing architecture that can serve multiple sectors as demand for resilient timing increases.

Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: “Precise and secure timing is at the heart of so much we rely on every day – from banking and transport to energy and communications. This investment in UK satellite timing through TOUCAN is about more than technology; it is about protecting the everyday services people and businesses depend on. By working with GMV, the PNT Office and ESA’s NAVIS programme, we’re helping to build a stronger, more resilient space ecosystem that safeguards our security and keeps the UK at the forefront of innovation.”

GMV is responsible for system design, integration and the operational demonstration, building on its track record in secure national timing systems. Project partner Viasat is providing satellite bandwidth and supporting technical analysis into next‑generation TWSTFT technologies.