Gravity/inertial combination navigation is a leading issue in realizing passive navigation onboard a submarine. A new rotation-fitting gravity matching algorithm, based on the Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) algorithm, is proposed in this paper. The algorithm is based on the principle of least mean-square-error criterion, and searches for a certain matched trajectory that runs parallel to a trace indicated by an inertial navigation system on a gravity base map. A rotation is then made clockwise or counterclockwise through a certain angle around the matched trajectory to look for an optimal matched trajectory within a certain angle span range, and through weighted fitting with another eight suboptimal matched trajectories, the endpoint of the fitted trajectory is considered the optimal matched position. In analysis of the algorithm reliability and matching error, the results from simulation indicate that the optimal position can be obtained effectively in real time, and the positioning accuracy improves by 35% and up to 1.05 nautical miles using the proposed algorithm compared with using the widely employed TERCOM and SITAN methods. Current gravity-aided navigation can benefit from implementation of this new algorithm in terms of better reliability and positioning accuracy.
