DARPA awards phase II for RSN program

FAIRFAX, Va., May 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded Argon ST Inc. a phase II contract for continued work on the Robust Surface Navigation program.

U.S. company Argon was awarded the contract from the DARPA Strategic Technology Office following the company's successful completion of a phase I award. Under the approximately $6.5 million deal, Argon will continue development of algorithms to support a global positioning system for the RSN program.

The contract is part of an effort to develop a way to enable troops with GPS-based navigation capabilities in densely urban areas where GPS signals are blocked. Officials say the Argon solution involves using radio frequency signals.

"In today's technology-laden combat arenas the importance of developing alternate technologies to GPS for precision positioning and navigation has never been more critical," Kerry Rowe, Argon ST president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

"We are committed to helping solve the fundamental problem of navigation and geo-location in GPS-denied or GPS-degraded areas, especially in the difficult environments inside buildings and in urban canyons. Technologies being developed by the Argon team for DARPA will help our forces maintain that advantage."