China has built an optical navigation satellite network that operates in environments where the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been disabled. Unlike BeiDou, China's independently developed satellite navigation system and the country's existing leader in the field, the new system uses light instead of radio waves. As the Middle East conflict has exposed GPS vulnerabilities, China and countries worldwide are racing to develop alternative technologies.
A research team at Tsinghua University's Intelligent Microsystems and Nanosatellite Laboratory announced on the 24th that it has developed a "global anti-jamming and high-precision optical navigation system" consisting of 11 satellites after 20 years of research, according to a report by Chinese news outlet Guancha on the 31st. The team emphasized that this is the first time optical navigation technology has been expanded to a satellite network-based system.
The system works by installing powerful light sources on satellites that transmit coded signals to Earth. Ground receivers detect the light and combine it with satellite position data to calculate precise locations. Because light travels in a narrow, straight beam, it is less vulnerable to jamming than the radio signals used by GPS and BeiDou.
The development of a technology in China that surpasses BeiDou has drawn even greater attention due to the outbreak of war involving Iran. The United States intentionally jammed GPS to counter Iran, but Iran used BeiDou to noticeably improve the accuracy of its drones and missiles compared to previous conflicts. Al Jazeera, citing intelligence officials, reported that "Iran has been using the BeiDou-3 model for missile and drone strikes since December 2025." However, BeiDou itself cannot fully escape the effects of GPS jamming and becomes unusable when disabled. In contrast, Tsinghua University's system, which uses optics rather than radio waves, could serve as an alternative.
As a result, the Tsinghua system has already been exported to 20 countries including the United States and France. It is also reportedly assisting drones developed by U.S. and Israeli companies to operate in GPS-jammed environments during Middle East conflicts. The research team recently received a Special Award for Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement from China's Ministry of Education in 2025.
The team plans to expand applications through further technological advancement into areas such as the low-altitude economy, drones, autonomous driving, and deep-space exploration. Xing Fei, a professor in Tsinghua University's Department of Precision Instrumentation who leads the research team, said, "We plan to deploy 37 additional satellites in low Earth orbit at 816 km altitude to cover the entire area within 60 degrees north and south latitude, where most of the world's population and economic activity is concentrated."
However, the system has clear limitations. It requires a clear line of sight, making it susceptible to weather conditions and physical obstacles. This is why the research team has emphasized that the system is meant to complement BeiDou, not replace it.
Meanwhile, the United States and Europe are also pursuing optical and alternative navigation technologies. NASA has been partially using optical navigation for deep-space exploration, and the European Space Agency (ESA) is conducting research on satellite-based optical and vision navigation.