diff --git a/src/lib/modes/ui.hpp b/src/lib/modes/ui.hpp
index 43f75e64a4c..b4f7ef4ae16 100644
--- a/src/lib/modes/ui.hpp
+++ b/src/lib/modes/ui.hpp
@@ -69,7 +69,9 @@ static inline uint32_t getValidNavStates()
 	static_assert(vehicle_status_s::NAVIGATION_STATE_MAX  == 31, "update valid nav states");
 }
 
-const char *const nav_state_names[vehicle_status_s::NAVIGATION_STATE_MAX] = {
+// inline: this header is included from several translation units, and a namespace-scope const
+// array has internal linkage, so without it each of them gets its own copy of the table
+inline const char *const nav_state_names[vehicle_status_s::NAVIGATION_STATE_MAX] = {
 	"Manual",
 	"Altitude",
 	"Position",