The U.S. Army has awarded contracts worth up to $41 million to IS4S and GPS Source to develop next-generation mounted positioning, navigation and timing capabilities under the NorthStar program.
Issued by Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, the other transaction authority agreements support a 36-month prototyping effort, the Army said Monday.
Register now for the 2026 Army Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on June 18, to hear Army officials and industry leaders discuss how the service is restructuring its approach to resources, contracting and technology modernization. The event will provide insight into progress toward the Army’s 2030 goals, including efforts to establish and sustain a unified network.
Table of Contents
What Does the NorthStar Program Aim to Deliver?
The NorthStar effort is focused on developing a modular, upgradable assured PNT capability designed for Army 2040 ground platforms and built on a modular open systems approach to enable integration of emerging technologies.
“Awarding to multiple vendors encourages competition, speeds up implementation and integration of new technology to meet emerging threats, and reduces cost of engineering change proposals,” said Erik Scott, product manager for PNT modernization. “Prioritizing a modular system design for hardware and software ensures the best value for the government and the best solution for our Warfighters.”
The Army plans to begin contract kickoffs in May, followed by design reviews and soldier touchpoints to refine system performance in operational environments.
How Does This Fit Into Broader Army PNT Modernization?
The NorthStar initiative builds on ongoing Army efforts to strengthen assured PNT capabilities in contested environments where GPS signals may be degraded or denied.
Army organizations have already fielded thousands of systems and upgrades to improve resilience, including more than 2,500 ground-based assured PNT systems and approximately 27,000 M-Code-capable receivers deployed in 2024.
These efforts include software updates to legacy systems such as the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver and Ground Based-GPS Receiver Application Modules, enhancing survivability when paired with anti-jam technologies.
Introduced in 2023, the NorthStar program drew responses from 27 vendors, shaping requirements for multiple capability tiers and ultimately leading to a multi-vendor award strategy.
Related Articles
President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law a bill that seeks to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs through fiscal year 2031. Federal agencies continue to play a key role in advancing innovation and supporting small business participation across government programs. Sign up now for the 2026 FedCiv Summit, where experts will discuss federal priorities, including AI adoption, cloud and compute infrastructure, and mission-driven investments. What Did SBA Director Kelly Loeffler Say About the SBIR-STTR Reauthorization Bill? In a statement published Monday, Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration, said the Small
The U.S. Space Force Front Door has partnered with U.S. Space Command to serve as an entry point for industry to share technologies and ideas that could help advance national space capabilities and accelerate technology delivery to warfighters. As collaboration between government and industry continues to accelerate across the national security space ecosystem, leaders are placing greater emphasis on innovation and partnership. Secure your seat at the 2026 Air and Space Summit and join leaders and experts as they examine advanced technologies and strategies shaping the future fight across two critical domains. What Is Space Force Front Door? Space Force
NASA has awarded Development Seed a potential $76 million contract to provide data engineering, informatics and artificial intelligence support services to the agency’s Office of Data Science and Informatics, or ODSI, at Marshall Space Flight Center. The performance-based, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract includes a phase-in period beginning May 15, a two-year base ordering period and three one-year option periods that could extend work through June 2031, NASA said Monday. What Will Development Seed Support? Under the contract, Development Seed will deliver research and development services across ODSI initiatives, including system architecture, operations and maintenance of agency-developed tools and platforms, and structured approaches