Austin-based startup Tern has secured an $11.26 million U.S. Army contract to deploy its navigation technology as the military seeks alternatives to GPS.

Under the agreement, the Army will use the system in vehicles, although Tern did not disclose the scale of the rollout. The company describes it as “Google Maps for the battlefield,” providing positioning and routing when GPS is unavailable, unreliable or compromised.

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GPS Disruptions Drive Demand

GPS interference has become increasingly common in conflict zones, including the Middle East and areas around Ukraine and Russia. Those risks have accelerated demand for navigation systems that can operate without satellite signals, while Congress and the Trump administration have also pushed for more resilient alternatives.

How Tern’s System Works

Tern’s technology uses data generated by modern vehicles rather than GPS signals. A device connects to the vehicle’s diagnostics board and sends data to a soldier’s tablet, which provides positioning, navigation and routing.

Co-founder and CEO Shaun Moore said the system passively reads the vehicle’s data and uses proprietary methods to produce navigation information. He declined to disclose the underlying technology.

Processing the data at the vehicle allows the system to determine its position when GPS is degraded, including in tunnels, deserts, off-road environments or areas affected by jamming and spoofing.

From Testing To Deployment

Co-founder Brett Harrison recently tested the system on a 1,300-mile drive from Austin to Laguna Beach, California. He said Tern maintained the vehicle’s position throughout the trip while conventional GPS repeatedly dropped out.

Harrison, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan with a special operations task force, said the company focused from the beginning on building technology that could be deployed and scaled in the field.

“From the very foundation of when we decided to embark upon this effort, we recognized it has to be actually deployable, actually scalable, and not a science project,” he said.

The Army contract moves Tern’s technology from testing toward operational use as GPS interference becomes a growing military concern.