Broadly, GPS refers to a satellite-based navigation system that supplies information about locations and time on Earth. It’s increasingly vulnerable to intentional attacks and other disturbances, partially due to its historic dependence on weak, unencrypted signals beamed from space. 

Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and James Lankford, R-Okla., recently introduced the GPS Resiliency Report Act to help get ahead of GPS-related hazards to America’s foundational systems and public safety.

“GPS technology plays a critical role in both our national infrastructure and our national security, and so we need to remain vigilant about the risks to GPS,” Hassan told DefenseScoop in an email on Tuesday. “This commonsense, bipartisan bill will ensure that the Department of Defense is learning from conflicts around the world, and preparing for the possibility that it cannot rely on GPS satellite technology.”

If passed, the bill would require the secretary of defense to submit a report on “the Global Positioning System and associated positioning, navigation, and timing services” within one year of enactment, according to the legislative text.

That review would be unclassified, with a classified annex if warranted.

Elements of the report would need to include descriptions of risks during a potential conflict in which the U.S. is involved — or in the case of an attack on an ally. Notably, the bill defines allies as members of the NATO alliance, non-NATO partners listed in section 644(q) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and Taiwan.

The lawmakers also call for a full assessment of “the capabilities of competitor countries, including the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, Iran, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to degrade or deny” U.S. GPS access.

Additionally, the report would need to cover current DOD pursuits to develop and buy assets that provide redundant global positioning and positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities — including space-based, terrestrial-based and quantum-sensing technologies. 

Defense officials would also be expected to evaluate the ability of the Space Force’s Resilient Global Positioning System (R-GPS) program to achieve full capacity to provide resilience to existing U.S. satellites, and separately, produce framework for enabling a full-scale terrestrial-based GPS redundancy system that could be operational no later than 15 years after the legislation is enacted.

“By reviewing the risks to current GPS technology, we lay the groundwork for the next generation of position, navigation, and timing systems that will keep us safe, secure, and free,” Hassan said.

Following its introduction, the bill was referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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Plans are moving forward as the Defense Department seeks more robust tools to mitigate adversaries’ jamming tactics against GPS.

“All military services, including the Marine Corps, have been actively involved in Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)/Global Positioning System (GPS) modernization efforts that will culminate in the fielding of critical Assured PNT capabilities to their warfighters. These new capabilities will enable warfighters to benefit from enhanced PNT capabilities offered using Military Code (M-Code) GPS satellite signals, other signals of opportunity, and a variety of non-GPS sensors,” officials wrote in a request for information published Tuesday, soliciting vendors to participate in the demos.

The Mounted Assured Resilient Navigation, or MARNAV, initiative is Marine Corps Systems Command’s main acquisition effort to field modernized positioning, navigation and timing tools to ground vehicle platforms, according to the service.

“This program will incorporate an M-Code GPS capability along with additional PNT enablers/alternatives to provide a robust Navigation Warfare … compliant capability to the warfighters,” per the RFI.

The program is currently organized into two blocks. For block one, the Corps is leaning on an Army-developed capability, known as Mounted Assured PNT System (MAPS) Gen II, to meet its requirements. In addition to M-code, the system possesses a capability that “leverages a commercial satellite system to provide platforms with PNT information if GPS is compromised or unavailable,” according to a Government Accountability Office report on GPS modernization released in September 2024.

The Marines bought 357 of those systems in fiscal 2023 and planned to buy an additional 345 in fiscal 2024, per the report.

However, for block two, the Corps intends to pursue its own receivers to meet the service’s needs, GAO noted.

“Although subject to change, the current Acquisition Strategy to fulfill the Block 2 requirements is to conduct a full and open competition resulting in the award of a single Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The Government and the winning vendor may then enter the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) Phase of the program, and that contractual relationship may continue into system fielding and sustainment,” Marine Corps officials wrote in the RFI.

The tech demonstrations that the program manager for tactical communications and electromagnetic warfare systems is gearing up for are expected to help further define threshold and objective requirements for the program. The Corps is looking for companies to “demonstrate currently available, direct, drop-in, M-Code capable replacements” for the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, per the RFI.

The demos are slated to be conducted at Naval Information Warfare Center–Atlantic in Charleston, South Carolina, between February and May.

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The Army published its new space vision in January, doubling down on the importance of the service’s ability to conduct its own space ops and the need to grow its formations. The document emphasized the need for land-centric, expeditionary equipment designed for large-scale multidimensional operations for space missions.

But with an eye on executing the vision by 2030, the organization is working through challenges in meeting demands for new capabilities and more space soldiers.

“As I look at the priorities within the command as we move forward, probably our top priority is how do we deliver that capability responsive to the warfighter?” SMDC commander Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey said this week during a panel at the annual AUSA conference. “How do we continue to get after more tactical solutions that allow our soldiers to maneuver around on the battlefield at different areas, different times [with] smaller weight platforms? … How do we build the expertise within our soldiers so that we’re not borrowing manpower?”

Developing space soldiers

Over the last 25 years, the Army has maintained a functional area of 40 space operations officers, while also borrowing enlisted troops from other military occupational specialties. Given new demands to add and maintain experienced space soldiers, the service is reconsidering that resourcing model, Col. Donald Brooks, commandant of SMDC’s Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence, said.

“Given the increasing dependency on space capabilities of the Army of the future, we realize that this is not enough and it’s insufficient,” Brooks said. “So, this ‘temporary space soldier’ … has proven not able or capable to meet current and future operational demands, and negatively impacts our ability to sufficiently answer the call in today’s operational environment.”

As part of the Army’s larger ongoing force structure transformation, the service plans to grow its space warfighting formations to include nine companies and 27 platoons. Those units will be the 1st Space Brigade, additional multidomain task forces (MDTFs) and new theater-level formations called theater strike effects groups (TSEGs).

Soldiers in the new formations will focus on providing space capabilities — such as satellite communications, missile warning, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — in support of ground forces operating at the tactical edge, according to Col. Peter Atkinson, principal space advisor at SMDC.

“What we’re seeing now is our formations requiring more of those low-density, high-demand skill sets. It’s incredibly difficult to maintain because they’re highly specialized,” Atkinson said in an interview with DefenseScoop on the sidelines of AUSA. “The training timelines for those are great. And so, when you’re looking at the human resources aspects of it, that piece is challenging.”

The Army has already established three MDTFs — two in the Pacific and one in Europe — and plans to activate two more over the next few years. According to the space vision, the MDTFs will be responsible for “employing Army space interdiction forces alongside cyber operations and electronic warfare enablers,” allowing them to destroy adversary space systems.

The service has already sent a provisional TSEG unit to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to integrate into exercises and inform how SMDC will ultimately field the formation in 2027. The group was recently at Joint Warfighting Assessment 24 in Europe, during which the Army evaluated how the unit can augment the MDTF, Brooks said. 

“One of the great things with the TSEG is the counter surveillance [and] reconnaissance capabilities that are bringing navigation warfare, along with the high-altitude assets that it can bring to the fight,” he said. “And it really does build that, not only capacity, but build additional capabilities to shape and influence.”

SMDC is also “aggressively pursuing” the establishment of a military occupational specialty for non-commissioned officers specific to space careers, as well as an Army space operations branch comprising the enlisted cohort, its current functional area officers and a potential warrant officer cohort, Brooks noted. 

“We need an Army space operations career field and branch to produce and sustain the specialized, highly experienced and talented non-commissioned officer corps and officer cohort capable of integrating space across all warfighting functions and converging effects in support of maneuver operations,” he said.

Demand for new capabilities

As it grows the number of space personnel, the Army is also adding capabilities and equipment in alignment to the two new mission areas outlined in the space vision: integration with joint, coalition and commercial space capabilities, and interdiction against adversary space operations.

Atkinson told DefenseScoop it is imperative that the capability development and fielding is in line with the Army’s near-term growth plan for formations.

“Our goal is to make sure that they receive equipment as part of their activation, as part of their establishment,” he said. “So that alignment is what we’re focusing on right now, to make sure that we don’t have equipment on the shelf that could be waiting for a unit to be established, and then we don’t have units that are established without equipment.”

The service’s integration mission will include providing assured position, navigation and timing (PNT), deep sensing and reliable satellite communications, among others. While it keeps an eye on emerging technologies it can incorporate in the future, there are several prototypes for the integration mission the Army will field in the next few years, Atkinson noted.

A key challenge, however, will be scaling new space-based capabilities at relatively high volumes across the service. In many cases, the Army will require individual systems that can be fielded in the thousands — such as terminals needed for satellite communications, he added.

“The Army’s challenge with terminals is that we have too many, and it’s really hard to scale,” Atkinson said. “You’re talking about tens of thousands of individual terminals, each one unique to that satellite, that specific constellation — whether it’s military SATCOM, whether it’s commercial SATCOM.”

To mitigate delays in soldiers receiving new SATCOM capabilities, the Army is pursuing a hybrid terminal that can access multiple satellite constellations across orbital regimes. The service is hoping to leverage both military and commercial systems, Atkinson noted.

But for the Army’s new PNT capability, Atkinson said the fielding process is likely to be long. Developed by Collins Aerospace, the Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing System (MAPS) and the dismounted variant known as DAPS are designed to give soldiers assured PNT in GPS-contested environments.

The department started initial fielding of the capability during fiscal 2024, and plans to begin scaling the system across the service in fiscal 2025, according to Atkinson.

“That is a long fielding process. That’s hundreds of thousands of individual items that the Army continues to upgrade to make sure that we have sound PNT,” he said.

Atkinson also highlighted the Army’s prototyping efforts for the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN), a ground station that will integrate data from multiple platforms across all domains to assist commanders in making sense of the battlefield.

The service awarded Palantir a $178.4 million other transaction agreement for TITAN in March, under which the company will deliver five “basic” and five “advanced” variants of the ground station over a two-year period.

For the Army’s space modernization efforts, the platform will give soldiers immediate access to space-based ISR at remote locations, Atkinson said.

“There is a tremendous amount of innovation happening with space-based ISR. We’re seeing it in commercial, we’re seeing it in industry and we’re seeing it across the [intelligence community],” he said. “So being able to harness that is going to be critical for the Army.”

The department has been more tight-lipped about specific systems it is developing for its interdiction mission, but they are considered offensive space control capabilities designed to deny adversaries the ability to use space for hostile purposes “by delivering necessary fires and effects at echelon to protect friendly forces from observation and targeting by counter-satellite communications, counter-surveillance and reconnaissance, and navigation warfare operations,” according to the space vision.

Atkinson said the service is trying to outpace emerging threats from China and Russia’s recent growth in the space domain. Although space control isn’t a new requirement, the threat is now pushing the Army to scale more tactical interdiction systems.

“The threat landscape has evolved significantly coming out of [counterinsurgency] and transitioning to great-power competition,” he said. “We have not been focused on a conflict with Russia and China, and when you look at their use of space capabilities, it really threatens our way of life, our way of war and our abilities.”

As the Army carves out its new role in the space domain, it’s working closely with the Space Force and others across the Pentagon to ensure there is no duplication of effort and that each service’s space capabilities complement each other.

“The Army’s not doing space for space,” Atkinson said. “There’s a direct requirement for the Army to protect its forces, to ensure that we can enable our moving maneuver and basic functions. And right now we can’t strip out all the requirements for space and cyberspace.”

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According to a recent notice to industry posted on Sam.gov, SDA intends to release the first draft solicitations for Tranche 3 of the PWSA’s tracking and transport layers in early 2025. Those satellites — slated to begin launching in 2028 — are expected to provide advancements in capabilities from previous tranches, as well as feature new warfighting applications.

An SDA spokesperson confirmed that approximately 200 satellites will make up Tranche 3 of the PWSA. The constellation is being developed and fielded in batches or “tranches,” and it’s expected to eventually comprise hundreds of space vehicles in low-Earth orbit that carry critical technologies for data transport and missile defense missions.

The Tranche 3 transport layer is being divided into three separate variants — Upsilon, Sigma and Lambda — that each have slightly different capabilities, the same strategy SDA used to develop transport satellites for Tranche 2’s transport layer. The agency expects to issue up to two awards for each variant, according to the notice.

A draft solicitation for the Upsilon variant is slated be published in early 2025, and those for the Sigma and Lambda variants are to be released in the spring and summer of 2025, respectively. The final solicitation for the Upsilon and Sigma variants are anticipated to be released during the third quarter of fiscal 2025, followed by the final Lambda solicitation in the fourth quarter of FY ’25.

Because solicitations are still being finalized, the agency could not provide details as to what specific capabilities will be in each variant. However, the notice stated that Tranche 3 transport satellites will support “the advancement of the PWSA’s Tracking capabilities by adding capacity and robustness to the global mesh network.” 

SDA will also build out the PWSA’s ability to conduct position, navigation and timing (PNT) in Tranche 3, according to the notice. While transport satellites in the first and second batches are expected to deliver initial PNT capabilities, the third tranche will feature enhancements in time transfer and ranging technologies, the SDA spokesperson told DefenseScoop.

As for the Tranche 3 tracking layer, the agency plans to release a draft solicitation in the spring of 2025 and the final version in the summer, according to the notice. SDA previously published a request for information in July that sought industry feedback on its plans for the third tracking layer, which will include systems that are equipped with infrared sensors and able to provide warfighters with fire control-quality data.

At the same time, the notice indicated that SDA is considering development of a PWSA Enterprise Ground effort, although it didn’t provide specific details or timelines for when solicitations might be published.

The notice to industry for Tranche 3 came after the agency decided to adjust its acquisition strategy for the PWSA to allow more time for vendors to build their platforms. In September, SDA Director Derek Tournear said previous contracts required industry to have systems ready to launch within two-and-a-half years of the contract date, but the agency has since extended that to three years.

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Over the last five months, the Space Force has been experimenting with two Integrated Mission Deltas: one focused on positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and a second on electromagnetic warfare (EW). The model brings a single mission area’s personnel, training elements and sustainment function under one commander while also incorporating additional cybersecurity and intelligence professionals.

When Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman announced the new pilot units in September, he explained the goal was to improve the readiness of the Space Force in selected mission areas. Now the service is looking at how to replicate the model with other parts of the force, SpOC Chief Lt. Gen. David Miller said Tuesday during his first call with reporters since taking the helm of the field command in January.

“I will tell you that my recommendations are in. We are having conversations about that with the service chief. He will decide what are the next candidates to do that,” Miller said. “Many of you know me, I’m pretty aggressive. You can imagine that my recommendations are pretty aggressive. We’re gonna go with whatever the service chief and [the Secretary of the Air Force] decide, and I think you’ll hear something about that in the coming weeks.”

Currently, the Space Force allocates operations and training functions to various SpOC deltas — essentially the service’s version of numbered units and commands — while sustainment and acquisition responsibilities are held by Space Systems Command (SSC). Under the IMD model, a SpOC delta commander gains acquisition professionals responsible for sustainment who will also collaborate with their counterparts at SSC — which is still the deciding authority on acquiring new capabilities.

While Miller did not go into much detail about his recommendations, he did outline some successes the Space Force has seen with the IMDs so far that have influenced his guidance.

For example, both the PNT and EW integrated deltas have been able to finish testing milestones at an “unprecedented rate by taking almost 10 to 15 percent of the total time that was anticipated to accomplish the milestones,” he said.

There have also been improvements in how the Space Force fields capabilities to U.S. Space Command, as well as in the service’s ability to rapidly fix, repair or address issues with space systems “by virtue of a commander having authority over all the sustainment and maintenance that previously were split between two commands,” he added.

Despite the early wins, Miller emphasized that the IMD construct isn’t one that can be applied across the Space Force. Rather, the model is best for mission areas that require forces to be presented to Spacecom, he explained.

“We have to centralize authority over both the manpower, the weapons system and the sustainment and training of those guardians and airmen to get the job done,” he said. “That’s just a core requirement when we’re presenting combat power to a combatant command, so I think it’s absolutely necessary in those cases.”

In others where a delta provides services specific to the Space Force or has a more tailored mission, it wouldn’t be necessary to transition those to an IMD model, Miller said.

“I just don’t think that in every case and in every situation you’ll see the … Integrated Mission Delta be a requirement,” he said. “Some of those deltas don’t need that. They still need to be part of Space Operations Command, they just don’t necessarily need to be integrating all those capabilities under one single commander.”

Updated on March 4, 2024 at 5:20 PM: This story has been updated to clarify sustainment and acquisition roles under the IMD model.

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The document follows the publication of the Biden-Harris administration’s strategy, released in 2022, that outlined four pillars related to emerging issues in the Arctic — one of which called on the Pentagon to develop capabilities for enhanced military operations. The other three focused on the long-term impacts of climate change, economic development and international partnerships. 

The plan now lists broad strategic security-related objectives — ​​improving understanding of the Arctic operating environment, increasing presence in the region and working with relevant allies and partners — that also includes specific actions for the Defense Department and other federal agencies to take to deter aggression in the region.

“Our security in the Arctic is inclusive of many interests, from national defense and homeland security to safe commercial and scientific activities. However, the Arctic environment poses region-specific challenges that require tailored technology, assets, infrastructure, training, and planning,” the implementation plan states. “To secure our interests as attention, investments, and activity grow in the Arctic over the coming decades, the United States will enhance and exercise both our military and civilian capabilities in the Arctic as required to deter threats and to anticipate, prevent, and respond to both natural and human-made incidents.”

The original strategy pointed to both Russia’s increased military posture and China’s plans to grow its influence in the region as areas of concern for national security. In order to keep tabs on adversaries and track potential threats, the new plan calls for improvements to domain awareness capabilities. That includes making investments to replace and upgrade outdated systems and infrastructure, expand coverage of the Arctic and incorporate emerging technologies.

The Pentagon will partner with Arctic nations to conduct research and development tailored for operations in the region — specifically with Canada to “modernize, improve and better integrate” capabilities for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), per the document.

Having persistent and accurate eyes in far northern latitudes is a top priority for leaders at NORAD. And the joint U.S.-Canadian organization is seeking capabilities — from long-range radars to artificial intelligence — that will offer better domain awareness.

The White House also directed the Defense Department to put funds towards updating current and developing new real-time observation, modeling and data analytic capabilities for the region.

Much of the directives for the Pentagon are focused on capabilities that are used to monitor the weather — including investments across the next five-to-seven years for the Navy’s Oceanographic and Atmospheric Master Library’s Ambient Noise Database and a Space Force-led effort to develop a real-time model of the ionosphere “to monitor and provide data on environmental conditions unique to the Arctic region and thus afford opportunities to predict and potentially mitigate the effects of changes in the natural environment.”

In addition, the implementation plan calls on both the Pentagon and NASA to “improve communications and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities by developing communications and data networks capable of operating in the northern latitudes.”

Satellite communications and GPS availability in the Arctic are extremely limited for the U.S. military, as the connecting data links become unstable due to long distances needed to operate in the environment. A number of services are exploring new ways to offer more reliable capabilities for the region, such as low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellations.

NASA is tasked with evaluating existing and emerging U.S. commercial space-based assets — particularly LEO satcom constellations — in order to “assess their sufficiency to fulfill the identified requirements and user needs” by mid-fiscal 2024, according to the implementation plan. The agency will also create a framework dedicated to potential partnerships related to future satcom needs in the Arctic by the end of fiscal 2024, it noted.

On the other hand, the Defense Department will assess the availability of the global positioning system in the region — both as a stand-alone capability and in combination with similar allied space-based capabilities like Europe’s Galileo and Japan’s Quasi-Zenith — among other directives to enhance Arctic-based situational awareness and communications, according to the document.

Along with improved capabilities, the Arctic strategy implementation plan seeks to deter potential hostile activity with enhanced force posture and Arctic-focused military exercises.

“The United States will maintain and, as driven by requirements, refine and advance our military presence in the Arctic in support of our homeland defense, global military and power projection, and deterrence goals,” the document states. “We will make targeted investments to strategically enhance security infrastructure as required to enable these aims, while building the resilience of critical infrastructure to protect against both climate change and cyberattacks.”

The White House is directing the Pentagon to leverage region-specific military exercises, like Arctic Edge and Arctic Challenge, that are conducted with allies and partners “to develop and strengthen homeland defense plans in the Arctic and exercise Joint presence,” in addition to other training for cold-weather and Arctic operations.

Finally, the Pentagon is charged with coordinating with allies and partners in the Arctic to not only understand the region but also improve overall deterrence and readiness. The implementation plan directs enhanced partnerships with Canada, Arctic NATO nations, Alaska and Alaska Native and rural communities for a range of activities — including combined exercises, training on cold-weather ops and overall interoperability.

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AFC is charged with leading the Army’s top modernization efforts, from creating requirements for new capabilities to hosting the service’s Project Convergence exercises. The organization initially stood up cross-functional teams to help streamline those initiatives, each of which is focused on a specific capability or modernization effort.

Based at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, the current APNT/Space cross-functional team has been working to advance the Army’s tactical space capabilities, develop alternative global positioning system technologies and better understand the future of navigational warfare, according to an Army press release.

However, the CFTs are routinely under review and they can be “repurposed” to incorporate additional capabilities, Rainey, the commander of Army Futures Command, said during a roundtable with reporters at the annual AUSA conference. 

“An example of that may be — it’s pre-decisional — will be looking at PNT [and] and everything that’s going on in space-based sensing and deep sensing. That’d be a logical transition that we’re currently reviewing,” he said.

Space has become a key domain for the Defense Department, which has begun deploying more sensing capabilities on orbit. Some of the Pentagon’s new systems are able to detect and track high-speed weapons such as hypersonic missiles, conduct strategic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, and keep an eye on environmental events.

However, deep sensing will allow the service to sense and conduct targeting over much greater distances than current capabilities provide. Army leaders have lauded the capability as one of the service’s top modernization priorities, especially considering the U.S. military’s greater focus on potential operations in the vast Indo-Pacific region.

Along with the APNT/Space CFT, Futures Command also runs cross-functional teams for long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicles, future vertical lift, the network, air-and-missile defense, soldier lethality, Synthetic Training Environment and contested logistics.

Meanwhile, Rainey emphasized there are some CFTs, like Long-Range Precision Fires, that won’t be going anywhere. Rather, Army Futures Command will need to consider what those teams will have to tackle next after significant programs are completed.

“It’s a holistic review,” he said. 

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These programs seek to provide resilient navigation and positioning data to platforms and dismounted capabilities if GPS is denied or jammed by the enemy.

The award also signifies a critical milestone for the Army toward modernized M-code procurement, which has been directed by Congress. Prior to the award, the Army stated, the program office procured these so-called M-code cards through external contracts leading in some cases to significant passthrough costs and reduced buying power. This IDIQ contract provides the Army access to a direct supply source for the MAPS and DAPS systems.

“Because BAE Systems’ M-Code cards are currently the only tested and validated hardware compatible with MAPS and DAPS, it made sense to partner with them on this IDIQ contract,” said Michael Trzeciak, project manager for PNT within the Army’s Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors. “The contract facilitates procurement of multiple variants of the M-code card – meeting end system compatibility requirements for Mounted and Dismounted APNT solutions now and into the future.”

The contract was awarded through the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization and provides the program office a direct link to the vendor, which will enable more efficient technical support and integration, the Army said.

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“Quantum-enhanced navigation will deliver the ability for vehicles to position accurately over long periods when GPS is unavailable or untrustworthy … and [it] secures positioning against jamming or spoofing by hostile adversaries,” the company said in a release. “Existing alternatives to GPS deliver limited benefits, suffering from rapidly accumulating errors that can pose tremendous risks to defense missions. For instance, most naval vessels use backup ‘inertial navigation’ systems which sense motion to aid in positioning, but can lead to a vessel being off course by miles after just hours without GPS ­— enough to steer a ship into an underwater obstacle overnight under poor conditions.”

Quantum information science is a cutting-edge field that encompasses the investigation and application of complex phenomena happening at atomic and subatomic levels to process and transmit information. 

“Q-CTRL’s technology uses the quantum physics of atoms to detect motion and small changes in the Earth’s gravitational field, leveraging these signals to enable navigation over extended periods. Quantum sensors provide very reliable outputs because their signals are derived from the fundamental laws of physics, unlike existing mechanical or electrical systems that degrade over time or under different operating conditions,” per the company.

The firm touted its expertise in “quantum control” and the ability of its software, enhanced by artificial intelligence, to improve the operation of quantum hardware.

The contract announced Tuesday supports the first part of a multiyear effort to “field-deploy and validate” miniaturized systems on military platforms, according to the company. The monetary value of the contract was not disclosed in the release.

The agreement comes as members of the defense tech-focused AUKUS alliance — which consists of Australia, the U.K. and U.S. — have been partnering to develop and share a variety of cutting-edge capabilities, meaning the Pentagon could ultimately benefit from the Australian DOD’s new partnership with Q-CTRL, which has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles and London.

Defense officials from all three countries see opportunities to apply quantum technologies not only to positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) but also to high-performance computing and encryption.

The AUKUS Quantum Arrangement, announced last year, is initially focusing on PNT. Plans called for integrating emerging quantum technologies in trials and experimentation in the coming years.

Quantum is one of U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu’s 14 “critical technology areas.” Quantum sensors could provide “unprecedented accuracy” in positioning, navigation and timing, according to the CTO’s official website.

The Pentagon has requested $75 million in fiscal 2024 for a new Quantum Transition Acceleration project. About $45 million would be used for maturing, demonstrating and transitioning quantum inertial sensors, gravity sensors, atomic clocks and quantum electro-magnetic sensors. The other $30 million would focus on identifying, developing and maturing critical components supporting technology for atomic clocks, quantum sensors and quantum computers.

Additionally, last month the Pentagon announced that a project team led by the Army Research Laboratory in partnership with the Naval Research Lab and Air Force Research Lab won the 2024 Applied Research for Advancement of Science and Technology Priorities program award related to the classical quantum hybrid constructs to advance weapons systems (CLAWS) effort.

“The project team will advance quantum technology applications to kinetic weapons systems, enabling greater precision at longer range, lower collateral damage, and more agile platforms,” the DOD said in a release. “The winning team, comprised of representatives from multiple military Services, will partner with academia and industry in a multidisciplinary effort to develop emerging technologies into disruptive capabilities in areas including imaging, positioning, navigation, and timing, and quantum.”

In budget justification documents for the department’s fiscal 2024 funding request, Pentagon officials wrote that quantum tech is “approaching a tipping point.”

“If the [U.S.] can stay on pace, many important outcomes for the [DOD] can be realized including robust position, navigation and timing for DOD freedom of operations with precision strike even with contests in spectrum, space, or cyber operations,” they wrote.

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According to a request for information posted to Sam.gov on Thursday, the NRL is looking for technical, engineering and scientific expertise and capabilities that can support the lab’s work in researching, testing and applying various kinds of space-based PNT technologies. The RFI aims to gauge initial industry interest and capability.

“The requirements will include development of appropriate hardware and systems; systems analysis, planning, management, engineering, data analysis and data collection, education, and documentation of space experiments and operational data; modeling and simulation; test and evaluation; and logistics support,” the document states.

Throughout the Defense Department, leaders have grown concerned about the vulnerability of the United States’ traditional PNT systems — namely GPS — to jamming attacks or interference. Adversaries like China have demonstrated capabilities that could degrade or disrupt GPS satellites and related systems. 

In response, organizations in the Pentagon have begun researching how to implement diverse and alternative PNT capabilities and enabling technologies, such as quantum sensors. In April, the department altered oversight of the various PNT efforts in a new directive signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.

The Naval Research Lab’s advanced space PNT branch has also been supporting these efforts and has projects at various stages of development, including space- and ground-based systems, according to the RFI.

“An integral component of the branch’s PNT mission is supporting the development of a robust universal command and control system, advancing PNT performance analysis software, development and field testing for alternative methods of time transfer, and sensor-to-satellite RF systems engineering enabling more robust RF based PNT,” according to the document.

The NRL is especially interested in advanced PNT clocks — essential for accurate time measurement, positioning, navigation and synchronization — and the RFI lists several potential contractor tasks industry would conduct related to clock designs and theoretical topics.

One tasking would ask participants to “develop highly stable clock designs and identify factors influencing their operation for application to GPS and other PNT systems where improved clock stability will provide enhanced system results,” while another wants them to “utilize general relativity theory as it applies to clocks in satellites, on earth, and in space so that more accuracy can be obtained with GPS and other time dependent systems,” per the RFI.

Other tasks outlined are related to advanced sensing concepts, software engineering support for space systems, anti-jamming electronic equipment and more. 

The deadline for industry to respond to the request for information is July 11. 

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