The Pentagon’s APFIT program is providing $20 million in procurement funding to scale Anello’s silicon-photonics inertial navigation systems for GPS-contested and GPS-denied environments, the company said.
Anello Photonics has been selected for a $20 million award under the Department of Defense’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program, funding that will be used to ramp procurement and production of the company’s GPS-denied navigation systems.
APFIT is a Pentagon program, launched in fiscal year 2022 and run by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), that provides early procurement dollars for mature, mission-ready technologies so they can transition into operational use without waiting for the normal multi-year budget cycle. DoD documentation describes APFIT as targeting small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors whose systems have completed development and are ready for fielding at scale.
In its announcement, the Santa Clara, California–based company said the FY 2026 APFIT selection will “fast-track the procurement, production, and scaling” of its GPS-denied navigation technology, which is built around Anello’s Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOG) and a solid-state inertial navigation architecture. Anello positions its photonic inertial systems as providing precise position, navigation and timing (PNT) in GPS-degraded and GPS-denied environments, using an AI-based sensor fusion engine to integrate its optical gyro with other onboard sensors.
The company said the APFIT funding builds on a series of recent defense awards, including U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts focused on alternative navigation in GPS-degraded and GPS-denied scenarios, as well as other design wins across contested and mission-critical environments. Anello has also publicized work with the U.S. Space Force and the Defense Innovation Unit on optical-gyro-based inertial navigation and CMOSS-compliant solutions, further broadening its footprint in DoD modernization programs.
The company characterized the APFIT award as a step toward bringing GPS-independent navigation “to the forefront of operational autonomy,” citing collaboration with Navy and Marine Corps partners to move its inertial navigation products from demonstration into scaled operational use.
According to DoD statements on APFIT, the pilot program is intended to deliver “war-winning capability 1–2 years earlier than scheduled” by inserting procurement funding for selected technologies ahead of the normal Program Objective Memorandum (POM) timeline, while also strengthening the industrial base through investments in small businesses. The initial FY 2026 selections pushed total APFIT awards past $1 billion to date, underscoring the program’s growing role in accelerating fielding of new capabilities, including resilient PNT and GPS-independent navigation solutions.
Anello said the latest award will accelerate deployment of its “validated and mission-ready” inertial navigation products into operational DoD programs, but did not disclose specific platforms, timelines or customers in the public announcement.
