PANTHER: A Power-Optimized and Accurate Positioning, Navigation, and Timing With High Efficiency and Reliability

Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems are vital in both military and civilian domains to provide essential support for navigation, situational awareness, and coordinated operations. However, in GPS-denied environments, such as contested military zones or disaster areas, existing PNT solutions face significant limitations, such as signal interference and jamming. To address these challenges, we propose the PANTHER framework, which combines matching theory, coalition game models, and power optimization techniques to deliver a ground-based PNT solution tailored for dynamic and complex operational scenarios. The PANTHER framework introduces a novel ground-based solution designed to support search-and-rescue missions and military operations by using ad-hoc developed anchor nodes to assist the targets’ positioning when GPS signals are unavailable. Initially, we develop the Approximate PANTHER (A-PANTHER) framework, utilizing matching theory to enable the anchor node selection for targets located at a Forward Operating Base (FOB). For operations extending beyond the FOB, we present the Accurate PANTHER (Acc-PANTHER) framework, which leverages the coalition game theory to facilitate collaborative selection of anchor nodes by targets, with proven convergence of Nash-individually stable coalitions. Additionally, we optimize the anchor nodes’ transmission power using a non-cooperative game-theoretic approach, maximizing their utility with respect to the PNT services, while improving positioning errors for the targets. The existence and uniqueness of a Pure Nash Equilibrium for power levels are demonstrated. Through extensive simulations, the PANTHER framework demonstrates scalability and effectiveness across various military formations, such as line, echelon, column, and wedge, providing a practical and reliable PNT solution for mission-critical scenarios.