The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded the contract after the company completed the first two phases of the Maintain Accurate Geo-registration via Image-nav Compensation program, Northrop announced Wednesday.
During the first two phases, the contractor was able to develop and demonstrate prototype geo-registration algorithms in a vision-aided inertial navigation system.
For the third phase, it is expected to incorporate 3D maps into the system, quantify risks related to image-based navigation and continue test flights to assess performance in realistic environments.
Northrop Grumman is working with Toyon Research Corp. for the project.