India’s NavIC system can no longer provide navigation data independently

India’s government has accepted that the seven-satellite NavIC constellation can no longer independently provide navigation, reports the Indian Express. This is the first official acknowledgment since positioning data from one of its satellites was lost in March.

India’s armed forces continue to use NavIC signals to navigate as part of the multi-constellation GNSS, with data from GPS, Galileo and GLONASS.

The constellation can still provide accurate time signals for digital devices as well as broadcast emergency messages, while end-user devices carry a multi-constellation GNSS receiver.

According to the ISRO, NavIC satellite NVS-03 is ready for launch with satellites NVS-04 and NVS-05 in “advanced stage of realization.”