By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
HUNTSVILLE — Advanced Navigation America is expanding its local manufacturing operations, adding to the Rocket City’s role in producing technology for defense and industrial customers.
The company announced plans for a Positioning, Navigation and Timing Center of Excellence that will research, develop and manufacture systems designed to operate when satellite navigation is unreliable or unavailable, according to WAFF’s Oct. 5 reporting.
The technology helps equipment determine its location and movement without depending entirely on GPS. Its applications include autonomous systems used in defense, space, marine operations, mining and heavy industry.
The company says the facility will combine production, calibration and validation, bringing the manufacture and testing of precision sensors together. Planned capabilities include fiber optics, laser sensing, vision-based systems, artificial intelligence and other sensing technologies.
Mike Cohen, president of Advanced Navigation America, said the Huntsville investment is intended to bring manufacturing and customer support closer to industries that need reliable navigation equipment.
Company leaders cited the area’s workforce and industrial base, including proximity to Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, as reasons to expand there.
Axios reported the expansion could grow local employment from fewer than 30 people to as many as 100.
The expansion is backed by a $110 million investment round. That figure represents broader company funding and should not be read as the construction cost of the Huntsville facility. WAFF reported that the financing will also support U.S. acquisitions and workforce growth.
For local workers and suppliers, the announcement adds another manufacturing project to watch. The company’s stated focus extends beyond military customers to commercial industries facing the same challenge: keeping equipment operating when GPS cannot.