The NRFC has made a $50 million preferred equity investment in Advanced Navigation, which the company will use to support local manufacturing of its hardware and software and commercialise its Australian-developed intellectual property.
The NRFC’s investment will keep Advanced Navigation’s headquarters, core R&D, and high-precision manufacturing capabilities in Australia, create 172 new high-skilled roles in deep tech engineering, photonics, robotics, high-tech manufacturing, operations, and technical sales, and is commercialising research developed at hubs in Newcastle, Western Australia, Sydney, and Canberra.
About Advanced Navigation
Advanced Navigation is a Sydney-based company that produces assured Positioning Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions for the mining, defence, aerospace, automotive, and marine sectors.
Advanced Navigation uses Inertial Navigational Systems (INS) as an alternative to Global Positioning Systems (GPS), which maintains high accuracy when GPS signals are degraded, denied, or lost. By combining INS, robotics, AI, and high-precision sensing, Advanced Navigation’s PNT solutions can overcome vulnerabilities associated with GPS to deliver next-generation navigation systems.
Investment impact
Building Australian manufacturing capability
Advanced Navigation’s Advanced Manufacturing Facility and Research & Development Centre are located in NSW and the ACT respectively, with other facilities located around the country. The NRFC’s investment will support the ongoing manufacturing of the company’s hardware and software in Australia for use by both domestic and international customers.
Commercialising Australian innovation
Advanced Navigation’s technology is based on work conducted at the University of Western Australia. The NRFC’s investment will be used to further commercialise the company’s Australian-developed intellectual property for use both domestically and overseas.
Creating jobs
Advanced Navigation currently employs over 170 people in its facilities around Australia. The NRFC’s investment will help to create 172 new high-skilled roles in engineering, photonics, robotics, high-tech manufacturing, operations, and technical sales.
National security
Advanced Navigation’s PNT solutions provide an alternative to conventional GPS, which is susceptible to spoofing or jamming, vulnerable to solar storms and weather extremes, and cannot be used underwater or underground. The NRFC’s investment is helping in the development of technologies that are critical to the conduct of modern warfare for the Australian Defence Forces and Australia’s allies.