Swansea University drives next-gen cybersecurity in aerospace systems
Swansea University
image:
Four Airbus aircraft in flight, including an A220-300, A321XLR, A330-900 and A350-1000.
view moreCredit: Airbus SAS 2024
Swansea University, Novel Engineering Consultants Ltd (Novel), and Airbus Endeavr Wales—a unique initiative between the Welsh Government and Airbus Defence and Space—are collaborating on a groundbreaking research initiative to strengthen aerospace systems against cyberattacks.
The project is the first of its kind to explore specific aspects of how Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) can be applied at the early design stage to proactively enhance system resilience in aerospace.
It is being led by Professor Siraj Shaikh, Head of the Systems Security Group (SSG) at Swansea University’s Department of Computer Science, alongside Dr Hoang Nga Nguyen. In collaboration with cyber-physical systems experts from Novel, together, they aim to address cybersecurity standards and develop robust, forward-looking frameworks to safeguard emerging technologies.
Ian Thomas, Technical Lead at Novel, said: “By combining Novel’s deep expertise in model-based engineering with Swansea University’s world-class research in systems security, we’re creating new tools and practices that can integrate cybersecurity at the heart of aerospace and improve performance in the industry.”
Professor Shaikh added: “This project aims to enhance aerospace cybersecurity by strengthening resilience and protecting infrastructure from cyber threats. It also creates valuable opportunities for job creation and skills development in Wales, equipping researchers and engineers with advanced cybersecurity expertise to support industry growth.”
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans MS, said: “The Endeavr programme is all about growing the Welsh economy by helping turn innovative ideas into reality and I am delighted to see cutting edge technology being developed by Swansea University in support of Airbus Defence and Space.”
Nick Crew, Airbus Endeavr Wales Operations Officer, said: “We are looking forward to collaborating with the well-recognised experts in the area of cybersecurity and systems engineering from Swansea University and Novel to provide increased operational effective cybersecurity in our industry.”
As part of their work, the team will focus on:
- Early threat detection – Developing techniques to anticipate and prevent cyber threats before they affect aerospace operations
- Security validation – Creating new methods to test and verify cybersecurity measures in system architectures
- Best practice frameworks – Establishing industry guidelines for integrating cybersecurity at the design stage
- Adherence to current aerospace security standards and regulations
Through close collaboration, Swansea University, Airbus Endeavr Wales, and Novel aim to embed these innovations across the sector and share their findings to help strengthen the aerospace industry's cyber resilience.
This project highlights how academic–industry collaboration can drive innovation, ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of safe, secure, and sustainable aerospace development.
Next-gen GNSS delivers real-time positioning with centimeter accuracy
Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
image:
Fix rates of kinematic PPP-AR at global stations calculated with different systems.
view moreCredit: Satellite Navigation
In an era of growing demand for real-time precision navigation, researchers have unveiled a powerful leap forward in satellite-based positioning. Leveraging new-generation Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) constellations and signals, a novel approach to Precise Point Positioning with Real-Time Kinematic (PPP-RTK) achieves centimeter-level accuracy with remarkable speed. By combining multi-frequency signals from multiple satellite systems and applying advanced bias corrections and atmospheric modeling, the method dramatically shortens convergence time—sometimes achieving near-instant fixes. From controlled experiments to on-road vehicle tests, the study confirms that PPP-RTK technology is ready to meet the precision needs of modern applications such as autonomous driving and smart infrastructure.
Precise Point Positioning (PPP) has long held promise as a standalone, high-accuracy positioning technique, but its slow convergence and complexity in ambiguity resolution have limited widespread use. Over the past decade, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) modernization—including upgraded Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo Navigation Satellite System (Galileo), and BeiDou systems—has introduced multi-frequency, high-precision signals. These enhancements have expanded opportunities for precise positioning, yet challenges remain, especially in environments with obstructed views or fast-changing motion. High-fidelity corrections and real-time performance are critical for sectors like smart transportation, robotics, and disaster response. Due to these challenges, further in-depth research is needed to refine PPP solutions and meet the demands of real-world, dynamic applications.
A collaborative research team from Wuhan University and affiliated institutions has published a major study (DOI: 10.1186/s43020-025-00169-6) in the July 2025 issue of Satellite Navigation. The team developed and validated an enhanced PPP and PPP-RTK framework using next-generation GNSS signals and satellite augmentation services. The study evaluated the performance of BDS-3's PPP-B2b and Galileo's HAS services across a variety of experimental settings, revealing dramatic improvements in positioning accuracy, convergence time, and reliability. These breakthroughs offer a practical roadmap for deploying real-time high-precision navigation at global scale.
The researchers constructed an integrated Precise Point Positioning with Real-Time Kinematic (PPP-RTK) system incorporating real-time atmospheric corrections, observable-specific bias (OSB) products, and multi-constellation satellite data. Through extensive global experiments, they demonstrated that a combined GPS/Galileo/BeiDou configuration reduced static convergence time to under 5 minutes while achieving horizontal accuracy below 2 cm. In dynamic tests—including a real-world vehicular trial in Wuhan—PPP-RTK achieved sub-5 cm accuracy with instant or near-instant convergence, even under rapidly changing observation environments. These systems proved especially effective when paired with atmospheric modeling techniques like Kriging and distance interpolation. With fix rates exceeding 98%, the results underscore PPP-RTK's readiness for mission-critical applications in rapidly changing environments. Additionally, the study evaluated augmentation services: the BeiDou PPP-B2b and Galileo High Accuracy Service (HAS). Both were found to significantly accelerate convergence (to under 15 minutes and 100 seconds, respectively) and deliver decimeter-level accuracy in kinematic scenarios.
“This study marks a turning point in the quest for real-time, high-accuracy positioning,” said Dr. Xiaodong Ren, lead author and professor at Wuhan University. “By merging advanced GNSS signals, atmospheric corrections, and real-world testing, we've demonstrated that PPP-RTK can deliver fast, stable, and highly accurate results—even in the most demanding environments. These capabilities are essential for the next generation of autonomous systems, from self-driving cars to drones and beyond.”
The ability to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy—quickly and without reliance on dense base station networks—opens doors for a wide range of smart technologies. PPP-RTK has the potential to reshape industries such as precision agriculture, surveying, transportation logistics, and unmanned systems. This study provides a robust framework and empirical validation for real-world adoption of high-precision GNSS applications. As satellite constellations and augmentation services continue to evolve, PPP-RTK is poised to become the foundation of global positioning solutions—reliable, scalable, and ready for deployment in tomorrow's connected world.
###
References
DOI
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1186/s43020-025-00169-6
Funding information
This work was funded by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (Grant No. 42425003), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42388102, No. 42230104) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2042025kf0026).
About Satellite Navigation
Satellite Navigation (E-ISSN: 2662-1363; ISSN: 2662-9291) is the official journal of Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The journal aims to report innovative ideas, new results or progress on the theoretical techniques and applications of satellite navigation. The journal welcomes original articles, reviews and commentaries.
Journal
Satellite Navigation
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Performance of PPP and PPP-RTK with new-generation GNSS constellations and signals
Article Publication Date
7-Jul-2025
Frontiers broadens AI‑driven integrity checks with integration of Cactus’ Paperpal Preflight and Clear Skies’ Papermill Alarm and Oversight into AIRA
Frontiers
Dual partnership boosts fraud‑detection capabilities in AIRA, safeguarding the integrity of Frontiers articles
Frontiers announced today that external industry‑leading fraud‑screening tools – Cactus Communications’ Paperpal Preflight and Clear Skies’ Papermill Alarm and Oversight – have been integrated into its own Artificial Intelligence Review Assistant (AIRA) submission-screening system. The expansion delivers an unprecedented, multilayered defense against organized research fraud, strengthening the reliability and integrity of every manuscript submitted to Frontiers.
Commitment to integrity and building on AIRA’s seven‑year legacy
At Frontiers, research integrity is the first priority. More than 50 research integrity experts together with AIRA apply tight quality controls to every submission, before, during, and after peer review.
Since its launch in 2018, AIRA has supported the Frontiers Research Integrity Team in maintaining quality and integrity at scale, making Frontiers one of the early adopters of AI in submission checking. In 2022, Frontiers added its own papermill check to its comprehensive catalogue of AIRA checks, which aims to tackle the industry-wide problem of manufactured manuscripts. This is part of the routine updates to AIRA, released regularly as additional industry insights into papermill operations have become available. The latest version, released in 2025, uses more than 15 data points and signals of potential manufactured manuscripts to be investigated and validated by a human expert.
Frontiers is committed to leading the field in research integrity by deploying the most advanced and effective tools working on all submissions; for this reason, the open-access publisher is now partnering with two industry-leading providers on problematic content detection, with their tools directly integrated into the team’s standard operating procedures. The addition of Cactus and Clear Skies checks into AIRA marks the next phase of Frontiers’ integrity roadmap, which also includes enhanced reference and citation checks and authorship validation checks scheduled for release later this year.
Dr Elena Vicario, Head of Research Integrity at Frontiers, said:
“Maintaining trust in the scholarly record demands constant innovation. By combining the unique strengths of Clear Skies and Cactus with our own AI capabilities, we are raising the bar for integrity screening and giving editors and reviewers the confidence that every submission has been rigorously vetted.”
Commenting on the importance of the partnership, Nikesh Gosalia, President, Global Academic and Publisher Relations at Cactus Communications, said:
“This partnership with Frontiers reflects the confidence leading publishers have in our AI-driven solutions. Paperpal Preflight is a vital tool that supports editorial teams and existing homegrown solutions in identifying and addressing potential issues early in the publishing workflow. As one of the world’s largest and most impactful research publishers, Frontiers is taking an important step in strengthening research integrity, and we are proud to collaborate with them in this mission of safeguarding research.”
Adam Day, Founder and CEO of Clear Skies, added:
“Clear Skies is thrilled to be working with the innovative team at Frontiers to integrate AIRA with Oversight. This integration makes our multi-award-winning services, including the Papermill Alarm, available across the Frontiers portfolio. Oversight is the first index of research integrity and recipient of the inaugural EPIC Award for integrity tools from the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP). As well as providing strategic Oversight to publishers, our detailed article reports support human Oversight of research integrity investigations on publications as well as journal submissions.”
No comments:
Post a Comment