Today the US Department of Transportation will publish a Request for Information seeking vendors interested in participating in a demonstration of technologies:
“… that are capable of providing backup positioning, navigation, and/or timing services to critical infrastructure (CI) in the event of a temporary disruption to GPS. This demonstration effort also is expected to encompass technologies capable of providing complementary PNT functions to GPS by either expanding PNT capabilities, including cross checks, or extending them to GPS or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied or degraded user environments.”
Eligible systems must be Technology Readiness Level (TRL) six or higher. TRL6 is defined by DOT as “prototype demonstrated in relevant environment.”
The pre-release announcement is posted here, as will be the final RFI.
This demonstration project was required by the National Defense Authorization Act for 2018 which was passed in December of 2017. In 2018 the Congress provided $10M and then another $5M for the project in the 2018 and 2019 Defense appropriations acts. The Congress established this project as a joint effort of the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Transportation. As the lead for civil navigation issues, the Department of Transportation has taken the leadership role for the project.
