A UK project funded under the European Space Agency's NAVISP programme has reached a key milestone in helping the country understand and manage its dependence on position, navigation and timing (PNT) services, ESA reported on 17 August 2026. The UK National PNT Digital Twin Environment (UPDATE) project is intended to let government and stakeholders model dependencies, assess risk and test resilience strategies before disruption occurs, rather than reacting to incidents.

ESA cited a 2023 report estimating that a week-long outage would cost the UK up to £7.64 billion, with a 24-hour outage amounting to £1.42 billion, mainly in emergency services and road transportation. The digital twin is to draw on data from satellite systems such as GNSS alongside complementary systems including eLoran and the UK's National Timing Centre.

Under Phase 1 in 2025, GMV defined requirements, outlined a high-level architecture and set a development roadmap. A contract for Phase 2 was signed in January 2026, with GMV leading a consortium that includes Skyral, QinetiQ, the University of Bath and the Satellite Applications Catapult. ESA said the results are intended to support the UK Government's Policy Framework for Greater PNT Resilience.