• Maxar Intelligence announced its new Raptor software designed to help drones navigate without GPS.
• Raptor works by combining a drone's visuals from its camera with Maxar's 3D topographical data.
• GPS jamming continues to be a challenge for drones and other systems.

Drone operators on modern battlefields are facing intense electronic warfare, with enemy jamming making it outrageously difficult to fly with GPS.

Maxar, a leading satellite imagery company, has unveiled a new solution to this problem that bypasses GPS by having drones rely on what they see and three-dimensional global terrain data.

The company announced Raptor, a "first-of-its-kind" program, on Tuesday. It's designed for integration on any uncrewed aerial system; no additional hardware is required.

Rather than using GPS for navigation or location information, a drone using the Raptor system can use Maxar's data — over 90 million square kilometers of 3D terrain data mapped around the world — and details from its surroundings.

Peter Wilczynski, Maxar's chief product officer, said that this software ensures uncrewed systems "get the job done no matter how much GPS interference they face."

It's a novel approach specifically designed to counter the challenges of GPS jamming and electronic warfare, which can throw drones off-course. That has been especially prevalent in the Ukraine war and is becoming a top concern for future wars.

"The entire modern battle space is defined by GPS," Wilczynski explained. A wide range of military systems depend on it, but it may not be available in future fights.

US and other Western military officials have long expressed the need for alternative navigational systems in environments where GPS may be contested or completely denied.

Raptor about visual recognition and data matching. With the software, a drone operator can compare the drone's camera feed with Maxar's data in real time and figure out where the system is and where it needs to go.

Maxar has been focused on the shift toward mapping out a 3D representation of the world from two-dimensional photos and data. Raptor is a culmination of that project, Wilczynski said, as well as an answer to the countermeasures that have been taking out drone navigation in battle.

The Raptor system consists of three elements. The first part is the vision-based position software, which has an accuracy of less than 10 meters RMSE, or root mean square error, which measures the difference between the model's predictions and actual values. Next is the technology that syncs with the drone's video feed to Maxar's data. The final element is loaded on laptops, which the operators use to extract real-time coordinates from the video feed.

Geography is not static, especially in a wartime scenario, where battlefields can change quickly. Wilczynski said Maxar can update its data in about a day's time; then Raptor gets new maps representing any changes. It's similar to giving a drone operator a map right before an operation. The drone's visual feed can also track changes by comparing what it's seeing to the data.

And even with a bit of change or difference, or different qualities of video feeds depending on drone cameras, Raptor can help the operator match the 3D representation and video feed, sort of like "a puzzle or a lock and key," Wilcynzski said.

A drone's visual feed, too, can be severed or jammed. Raptor allows the drone to keep the map data locally, so it can still use that should the feed between the operator and drone be cut.

The 3D element, Wilcynzski said, is crucial. It gives the drone far more detailed topographical data than a 2D image. It's more resilient to nighttime operations, seasonal and weather changes, and altitudes. Raptor can operate as low as 120 meters.

Another element is the ability to operate multiple drones at once. Because Raptor uses a central geospatial source and doesn't require specific cameras on the drones, it is possible for different uncrewed vehicles to work together regardless of hardware or software differences.

Maxar's Raptor comes as countermeasures to rising drone warfare are rampant, especially in the Ukraine war. Both sides have developed ways to jam each other's drones. Alternative solutions, like fiber-optic drones and AI-driven drones that can't be jammed, have proven useful, though nothing is without complications.

• Ukrainian forces carried out an attack on an airbase deep inside Russia this week.
• New satellite images reveal extensive damage at the Engels-2 airbase.
• It marks Ukraine's latest deep-strike operation as Kyiv attempts to degrade Russia's war machine.

New satellite imagery obtained by Business Insider shows damage at a key airbase deep inside Russia after a Ukrainian attack earlier in the week.

Ukraine's military said on Thursday that its forces struck the Engels-2 airfield in Russia's Saratov region overnight. It added that a fire, explosions, and a secondary detonation of ammunition were observed in the immediate vicinity of the base.

Maxar, a US commercial satellite imaging company, collected photos on Friday that revealed the aftermath of the attack. It said the strikes damaged an ammunition and weapons storage area, with explosions taking down buildings and bunkers.

The Russian airbase sits several hundred miles from the front lines and is home to Tu-95 and Tu-160 bomber aircraft. Ukraine has attacked the airfield several times during the war. This was the third attack this year; Kyiv conducted strikes on Engels twice in January.

Kyiv's military said that Russia uses the Engels airbase to launch aircraft that carry out missile strikes against targets on Ukrainian territory, including civilian targets.

The Russian governor of the Saratov region wrote on the Telegram messaging platform that the area suffered "the most massive UAV attack of all time" after the overnight strikes.

Russia has taken extensive measures to protect the aircraft at Engels after previous attacks on the base, including placing tires on the bombers to possibly shield them from Ukrainian missiles and drones. Russia has also relocated some of its bombers further east.

Ukraine's strikes on the base, as well as other cross-border targets, highlight its larger campaign to threaten and degrade Russia's military infrastructure hundreds of miles away from the front lines.

This week's attack on the base came amid a larger barrage. Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday that it had engaged and shot down 134 drones overnight across multiple regions.

Meanwhile, Russia has been continuing its bombardment of Ukraine; Moscow launched over 200 drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russia and Ukraine have discussed a limited cease-fire, with the US serving as an intermediary. Last week, Kyiv signaled its openness to an immediate 30-day cease-fire, but Moscow has continued its missile barrages on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure. The two countries, however, appear to have agreed to a reduction in attacks on energy facilities.

• A US government agency cut off Ukraine from high-resolution satellite imagery.
• A drone operator told BI that Maxar's images are essential to flying in GPS-jammed areas.
• Maxar's imagery, in particular, helps his unit find and hit Russian targets.

The commercial satellite imaging company Maxar confirmed that it is suspending the sharing of US government-commissioned imagery with Ukraine, a move that severely constrains Ukrainian drone pilots trying to defend their homeland.

This latest move is part of the Trump administration's drastic freezing of US aid and intelligence support to its ally. It will severely hamper how drone pilots can target Russian forces or spot their movements, a pilot told Business Insider. The widespread jamming of GPS navigation has forced Ukraine's drone pilots to rely on high-resolution imagery, particularly that produced by Maxar.

Maxar told BI on Friday that the US government had suspended Ukrainian accounts in the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery program, or GEGD, a major government portal for sharing government-purchased imagery with allies.

Maxar is contracted with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) on the program. The NGA told BI that it had "temporarily suspended" access "in accordance with the Administration's directive on support to Ukraine."

The change hinders Ukraine's awareness of the Russian forces behind the frontlines and obstructs their deep strike campaign that has targeted Russian supply lines and ammunition depots, said Dimko Zhluktenko, who works in Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said.

The move, first reported by Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi on the basis of unnamed sources, comes just after the US announced it was pausing its intelligence sharing with Ukraine and days after President Donald Trump announced an indefinite pause in US aid to Ukraine, leaving the future of a major weapons source in doubt.

Much like Starlink, the SpaceX internet satellite service provided to Ukraine through US government contracts, commercial satellite images are essential to the planning and execution of Ukraine's military operations.

Zhluktenko said that Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, a branch that specializes in drone operations, relies more heavily on satellite imagery from private companies like Maxar than it does on intelligence given directly by the US government.

Without Maxar imagery, "deepstrike drone operators will not get as precise targeting," Zhluktenko told BI.

"Intelligence services will have worse understanding of Russian stockpiles and repair factories" and have "a worse understanding of how much capacity Russia has left."

He said that his unit often used Maxar satellite imagery to plan reconnaissance drone missions, to find deep strike targets and places where Russia was storing equipment like tanks and vehicles, and to see the results of those deep strikes.

Zhluktenko said Ukrainian soldiers use a mix of different satellite imagery companies, but that Maxar stood out because of the quality of its images. He estimated that 75% of the units that use drone imagery largely rely on Maxar specifically because "high-quality satellite images and maps are a must."

In addition to its assistance to Ukraine, the company's images have widely documented the changes and damage occurring during the war.

Drones have become an increasingly important part of Ukraine's fight back against Russia's invasion. Ukraine can make drones itself, whereas its supply of Western aid, while large, has often come with conditions or delays and has an unclear future.

Across the 600-mile stretch of the frontlines, drones have taken on the roles of anti-tank missiles and other weaponry. Even cheap drones have hit far behind Russia's lines, destroyed pieces of equipment worth millions, and contributed strongly to Ukraine holding Russia back. The USF, set up in 2024, is considered the world's first military branch devoted solely to drone warfare.

Ukraine's drone units as of last November accounted for at least 80% of Russian frontline losses, The New York Times then reported.

That means weakening Ukraine's drones — particularly at the same time that aid from the US is paused — could have a major impact on the battlefield. This effect gets more pronounced as the imagery stoppage continues, allowing Russia to mass forces for assault with a lower chance of being spotted.

And Ukrainian drone units have become increasingly reliant on satellite imagery as a way to get around Russian jamming.

Zhluktenko said that using GPS is impossible in heavily contested areas as jamming efforts are so high.

In place of locating with GPS, drone operators increasingly orient themselves by comparing the drone camera's view to maps and satellite images, Zhluktenko said. In this way, Maxar technology helps them "navigate the battlefield."

Ukraine has been developing drones that work along these lines — with software that compares what the drone sees to photos and video of the area that was previously captured — to get around Russian jamming.

American company Vermeer announced last month that it was integrating its technology into Ukrainian drones. This technology preloads satellite images onto drones so they don't need to rely on GPS.

Zhlutenko said the Trump administration's actions are making Ukraine weaker and could be used against other US allies.

In 2023, the NGA awarded Maxar a five-year, $192 million contract which would help provide US allies with imagery "consisting of high-resolution electro-optical, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and 3D data products," the company announced.

The Trump-ordered intelligence freeze may have most immediate impact by limiting the effectiveness of Ukraine's air defenses, which are improved by early warning sensors.

The longer the US intelligence hold continues, and its military risks mount, the more likely it is that Ukraine will have to make do with commercial satellite imagery firms outside the US and rely on other types of sensors like high-altitude drones.

But losing Maxar, and US intelligence more broadly, is a deficit all of that tech could not easily replace.

• Iran has spent the past few years turning a container ship into a militarized drone carrier.
• New satellite images show the Shahid Bagheri has left its home port for the first time.
• The vessel's development highlights Tehran's efforts to project power farther out.

A container ship that Iran has spent the past few years turning into a militarized drone carrier has left its home port for the first time, recent satellite imagery obtained by Business Insider shows.

In an image captured on November 12 by BlackSky, which provides space-based real-time intelligence, the new Shahid Bagheri can be seen at an Iranian shipyard located along the Persian Gulf.

But an image captured a little more than two weeks later, on November 28, shows the Bagheri missing from its berth at the Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex, just west of the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

Open-source intelligence gathered by H I Sutton, an independent defense analyst, suggests that the Bagheri left the port to begin sea trials off Iran's coast. It's unclear if these are still ongoing. When asked to comment on the situation, a US defense official said the military does not provide assessments on adversary capabilities or actions.

Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and an expert on Iranian security and defense affairs, told BI that the Bagheri's development underscores Tehran's efforts to project its power overseas — far beyond nearby waters.

Expanding Iran's reach

The Bagheri started as a container ship known as the Perarin, but in 2021, Iran began working on the vessel to transform it into a functional drone carrier for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.

At nearly 790 feet long, the Bagheri somewhat resembles a Soviet aircraft carrier with a distinctive ski-jump ramp, which was added in 2023. The ship's angled flight deck, used for launching and recovering drones, measures just under 600 feet.

It's unclear what type of drones — or how many — might be included in the Bagheri's future carrier air wing. It could consist of a mix of one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, in addition to reconnaissance and strike platforms that can return to the after their missions are completed.

Nadimi said that the Bagheri will increase Iran's flexibility by allowing it to carry out long-range surveillance and strike missions and recover the drones used. In turn, Tehran can invest more in developing more sophisticated and larger systems that won't just be used for one-way attack operations.

The Bagheri isn't the only container ship that the Iranians have turned into a military vessel. Last year, the IRGCN commissioned the Shahid Mahdavi, a modified expeditionary sea base that was formerly known as the Sarvin. This vessel can carry helicopters, drones, special forces units, and missiles.

Earlier this year, the Mahdavi completed a weekslong deployment in the Indian Ocean. During this voyage, it sailed near a key US base on the island of Diego Garcia in what appeared to be a demonstration of Tehran's reach to the American military.

Nadimi said that the IRGCN's push to convert merchant ships into sea bases and drone carriers reflects its desire to engage in longer-range operations farther from Iran, possibly in an attempt to mirror the US Navy aircraft carriers that regularly deploy to the region.

The capabilities of the Bagheri and Mahdavi don't come close to those of the American carriers, which can launch and recover advanced fighter jets and travel with smaller but powerful warships. However, the Iranian vessels could still have an impact in an asymmetrical naval warfare role, especially if they're armed with missiles, helicopters, and drones.

The Middle East has seen a sharp increase in unconventional naval warfare in recent years, ranging from Iranian harassment of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to the missile attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes carried out by Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Heavily armed drone carriers like the Bagheri could allow Iran to engage in this kind of warfare at greater distances rather than being constrained to its neighborhood or having to rely on proxy forces.

"They should be considered a threat not only to sea lines of communication and freedom of shipping and things like that but also to coastal and inland facilities and infrastructure as well," Nadimi said.