ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. Army researchers are surveying industry for companies to determine the feasibility of time-space-position optical tracking to help validate the position, velocity, roll, pitch, yaw, and acceleration of satellite-guided aircraft and munitions on test ranges.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command in Orlando, Fla., issued a source-sought notice (W900KK-26-9-XX01) last Wednesday for the Time-Space-Position Optical Tracking (T-SPOT) project.
Army researchers want to use time-space-position optical tracking as a time-space-position information truth sensor for testing in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied environments. The Army Contracting Command is issuing this notice on behalf of the Army's Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), Test and Evaluation/Science and Technology (T&E/S&T) program.
Integrating GNSS navigation systems in weapons is encouraging potential enemies to increase their electronic jamming capabilities to disrupt this kind of satellite guidance. As a result, the Army is trying to test GNSS-based navigation systems in realistic jamming conditions.
Testing approaches
There are two ways to conduct non-GNSS-based testing: live, and in anechoic chambers. Time-space-position information truth sources for live non-GNSS-based testing are moderate at best. Anechoic chambers, on the other hand, can provide high-quality time-space-position information, but the chamber itself limits systems under test.
Instead, the Army needs a precise non-GNSS-based time-space-position information system that can deploy over large test ranges. The intent is not to deliver the fieldable system, but rather to answer whether and how such a system would achieve its performance goals.
A future T-SPOT system must provide precise 3D time-space-position information for systems under test by estimating position based on a comparison of known location of test range landmarks with the time-stamped imagery of landmarks within the field-of view (FOV) of one or more visual sensors.
A future T-SPOT system should achieve a continuous 3D position accuracy comparable to that of real-time kinematic positioning GNSS navigation systems, and should be suitable for airborne systems. The system should minimize its size, weight, and power (SWaP) budget for crewed aircraft, and be applicable to small uncrewed aircraft.
How top respond
Companies interested should email 10-page capability statements no later than 20 Feb. 2026 to the Army's John Mosby at [email protected], with a copy to Peter Jorg at [email protected].
Email questions or concerns to John Mosby at [email protected], or Peter Jorg at [email protected]. More information is online at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/ee03f399b02945ecbc948c43cd1a4637/view.
