For years, authenticated satellite positioning has largely been reserved for expensive, power-hungry systems operating in defence, aviation, and other specialised sectors. Meanwhile, the devices most exposed to spoofing and signal manipulation, asset trackers, wearables, drones, and IoT sensors, have largely been left without practical protection.
To remedy that, Dutch semiconductor company Qualinx has announced that its new QLX3Gx Series GNSS receiver now supports Galileo’s Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA), making it the first ultra-low-power GNSS platform designed to provide authenticated positioning as a standard feature.
Galileo’s Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) works by adding a digital signature to navigation signals transmitted by Galileo satellites. This allows a receiver to verify that the positioning data it is receiving comes from the satellite network and has not been altered or spoofed by an attacker. Qualinx has integrated this authentication capability directly into the hardware of its ultra-low-power QLX3Gx GNSS chip, allowing small battery-powered devices to confirm the authenticity of their location data without significantly increasing power consumption. The result is a new layer of protection against spoofing attacks, which can trick receivers into reporting false positions.
The move comes as concerns over GPS and GNSS spoofing continue to grow across both civilian and military environments. Interference with positioning signals has become increasingly common around conflict zones, critical infrastructure, and transportation networks, highlighting the need for trusted location data far beyond traditional defence applications.
Qualinx plans to begin mass production of the QLX3Gx in the second half of 2026. If adoption follows expectations, authenticated positioning could soon become a standard feature across millions of devices that have historically operated without any meaningful defence against spoofing.
“Authenticated positioning has for too long been out of reach for the devices that need it most,” said Qualinx CEO Tom Trill. “By building OSNMA support into the QLX3Gx at the hardware level from day one, we’re making trusted positioning the default, not a premium option, for the wearables, asset trackers, and IoT devices that make up the bulk of the GNSS market.”
What makes the announcement notable is not simply the addition of OSNMA support, but where it is being deployed.
Historically, authenticated GNSS has required greater processing power and energy consumption, limiting adoption among battery-powered devices. Qualinx says its Digital Radio Frequency architecture enables the QLX3Gx to consume up to ten times less power than conventional GNSS receivers while integrating authentication directly into the chip’s hardware.
The result is a platform that can provide trusted positioning without imposing a meaningful penalty on battery life, a critical requirement for asset tracking, wearable technology, and industrial IoT deployments.
The development was carried out with support from the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), which has been pushing wider adoption of Galileo’s security features.
“OSNMA represents one of Galileo’s most important contributions to positioning security, and our mission is to see it adopted as widely as possible,” said Florent Koné, SatCom Market and Innovation Manager at EUSPA. “Qualinx has demonstrated that authenticated GNSS is no longer confined to high-power applications.”
As positioning data becomes increasingly important to logistics, autonomous systems, consumer electronics, and connected infrastructure, the ability to verify that location data is genuine is likely to become a baseline requirement rather than a specialised capability.
For Europe, the announcement also reflects a broader effort to strengthen technological sovereignty around critical positioning infrastructure. Galileo has steadily expanded its capabilities beyond navigation accuracy, with resilience and authentication becoming increasingly important as electronic warfare and signal interference move from military concerns into everyday commercial applications.
