US Army Awards $11.26 Million Contract to Tern for GPS-Independent Navigation

The U.S. Army has awarded an $11.26 million contract to Tern, an Austin-based startup, to deploy non-GPS navigation technology across its vehicle fleet. The move aims to eliminate a critical vulnerability in military logistics by providing a resilient alternative to satellite-based positioning.

Tern's system, which the company describes as "Google Maps for the battlefield," allows vehicles to determine their position independently. The hardware consists of a device that plugs directly into a vehicle's diagnostics board and connects to a tablet, which serves as the soldier's interface. By leveraging existing vehicle sensor data and AI, the technology provides positioning, navigation, and routing without relying on external GPS signals. Because it operates as a closed, offline system, it is significantly more resilient to the types of adversary disruptions that plague traditional satellite navigation.

The Fragility of GPS

This procurement comes as GPS fragility has become a primary military vulnerability. In modern conflict zones, frequent spoofing and jamming have rendered traditional navigation unreliable. These electronic warfare tactics can mislead operators or completely blind vehicle crews, creating dangerous gaps in operational continuity. In response, both the U.S. executive branch and Congress have pushed for the development of scalable, non-GPS alternatives that can function in contested environments.

Reducing Single Points of Failure

The reliance on GPS has long been viewed as a single point of failure for modern military maneuvers. By implementing a low-cost, scalable solution that utilizes edge processing and internal vehicle data, the Army reduces its exposure to electronic warfare. This capability ensures that vehicles can maintain accurate navigation in environments where satellite signals are naturally blocked—such as tunnels or deep deserts—or where they are intentionally jammed by an opponent.

Scaling Beyond the Lab

For the Army, the priority is moving away from experimental prototypes toward field-ready hardware. Tern leadership noted that the technology had to be "actually deployable, actually scalable, and not a science project." The current contract focuses on the practical deployment of this AI-driven positioning system to ensure that logistics and combat vehicles remain mobile and oriented regardless of the electronic environment. Future efforts will likely focus on how this independent positioning integrates with broader battlefield command-and-control systems.