Advanced Navigation launches major Huntsville expansion
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Advanced Navigation's new facility should be up and running in spring 2027. Photo: Courtesy of Advanced Navigation
Advanced Navigation America is launching an expansion that could more than triple its Huntsville workforce.
Why it matters: The expansion adds to Huntsville's growing advanced manufacturing field, fueled by a deep talent pool and proximity to aerospace and defense customers.
Zoom out: Headquartered in Australia, Advanced Navigation manufactures navigational systems for when GPS isn't available for customers like Boeing, NASA and Anduril.
- The facility will produce inertial navigation and tracking products, said Mike Cohen, president of Advanced Navigation America.
- Inertial navigation uses a known starting position to calculate location, known as dead reckoning, which is useful for when GPS is unavailable, like at the bottom of the ocean or deep in a mine.
Zoom in: The new facility will be the company's Position, Navigation and Timing Center of Excellence, and could bring its workforce from fewer than 30 to as many as 100 workers, Cohen said, from high-end engineering to supply chain and manufacturing personnel.
- It's backed by a $110 million Series C funding round, which is also being spread around investment in Australia and the U.K., he said.
- While the Huntsville project qualifies for some incentives based on its location in the former Line-X facility near the airport, he said the company is "making this investment because it makes sense for the corporation."
Driving the news: Demand for the company's systems is largely being driven by two things, he said: autonomous platforms and the growing commercial need for affordable systems that can be deployed at scale quickly.
- Think counter-UAS capabilities for defense customers and tracking assets through GPS-denied areas for commercial customers.
What they're saying: "Anybody who deals with aviation, space from around the country has facilities and capabilities (at Cummings Research Park)," he told Axios.
- "It makes it easier for us to partner not only directly with the government, but also those big primes — and we're in the process of doing that in many cases."
The bottom line: Initially, the company will produce about 25–30% of what its Australian operations produce, Cohen said, but eventually, "we will probably replicate and be equal to them."
What's next: Cohen, who's based in Huntsville, said the new facility will be up and running around March or April.