Marine Corps looking for vendors to fulfill Block II of MARNAV

The Marine Corps is conducting research to fulfill the second block of its navigation program, which aims to modernize positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and global positioning system (GPS) capabilities, according to a request for information issued today.

The RFI follows previous ones issued by the Marine Corps meant to further develop PNT requirements. According to today's notice, the Tactical Communication and Electromagnetic Warfare Systems program manager is looking for vendors to participate in demonstrations held between February and May of this year -- demonstrations that will showcase “currently available, direct, drop-in, M-code capable replacements for the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver.”

Demonstrations will take place at Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, and those interested must submit a request by May 15. Once a vendor is granted the award, they may enter the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the program.

This notice is for the second block of the Marine Corps’ Mounted Assured Resilient Navigation (MARNAV) program. Block I requirements are met by the Army’s Mounted Assured PNT System (MAPS) Gen II.

The outfitting of Army units with MAPS Gen I began in 2020 and allows many users to access GPS signals from one central point, eliminating the need for multiple GPS devices used between multiple systems.

All these modernization efforts will allow “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,” the notice states.