‘Silent hangar’ to help protect against GPS jamming

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the facility will provide a key capability to develop UK assets that can perform in the harshest electromagnetic environments on operations. 

Under the new £20m contract, Qinetiq will build a radio frequency, anti-jamming test facility at the MoD’s Boscombe Down site in Wiltshire.  

The so-called ‘silent hangar’ will be large enough to accommodate military assets including Protector drones, Chinook helicopters, and F-35 fighter jets. 

Due to open in 2026, the anechoic hangar creates an environment to test the integrity of the UK’s military equipment. The hangar also prevents testing affecting other users, such as the emergency services and air traffic control. 

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In a statement, Maria Eagle, minister for defence procurement and industry, said: “Hostile threats jamming GPS to disorientate military equipment has become increasingly common.  

“This…test facility will help us eliminate vulnerabilities from our platforms, protect our national security and keep our armed forces better protected on global deployments.”

The specialist hangar will reduce reflections, echoes or the escape of radio-frequency waves. The GPS simulators and threat emulators inside the chamber will provide the ability for the UK to create numerous hostile environments to test how well equipment can withstand jamming, and other threats, that attempt to confuse or disrupt military assets. 

Richard Bloomfield, head of electronic warfare (CBRN) space at Defence Equipment & Support, said: “Not only will this be one of the largest such chambers in Europe, but it will also be one of the most up-to-date and high-tech in the world, where hostile environments can be safely recreated to put military equipment, such as fighter jets and drones, through testing to understand their performance in challenging environments representing the many external threats that may be faced.”