Development of INS-aided GPS tracking loop and preliminary flight test

Robust tracking of GNSS signal in a harsh environment such as a severe ionospheric scintillation is a challenge for civil aviation. The use of inertial sensor would improve the tracking performance since the Doppler frequency caused by aircraft dynamics could be compensated by the inertial measurements. In order to evaluate such an aiding, an INS aided GPS tracking loop was developed by using a software receiver, and a preliminary flight test was conducted. Off-line analyses showed a reduced carrier phase error and a possible reduction of noise band width in tracking loop, which would result in positioning accuracy improvement.