By Andrea Wilson | PM PNT Communications Lead
Nate Smith has dedicated his career to supporting U.S. soldiers by excelling in high-level technical and leadership positions in the military, industry and civilian sectors. (Photo: PEO IEW&S)
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. – The lead engineer for Project Manager Positioning, Navigation, and Timing’s (PM PNT’s) Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing System (MAPS) Generation (GEN) II Nathan Smith is no stranger to setting, and accomplishing, impressive professional goals in engineering. He has dedicated his career to supporting U.S. soldiers by excelling in high-level technical and leadership positions in the military, industry and civilian sectors. Smith has received numerous well-deserved accolades for his dedication and commitment to soldiers, and as of this month, is celebrating a huge accomplishment alongside his team—a successful full-rate production decision for the MAPS GEN II.
“As one of the pioneers of working on the MAPS GEN II program, witnessing a significant milestone of achieving full-rate production after completing a crucial series of tests is phenomenal as it translates to providing capabilities to the warfighters,” said Smith. “The number of team members and stakeholders required to get a system to this point is extensive and each one of them was critical to making it happen.”
Components of MAPS GEN II consist of a navigation hub and an anti-jam antenna. (Photo: PEO IEW&S)
Mounted PNT’s MAPS GEN II is one of the Department of Defense’s high-visibility programs and an Army top modernization priority that addresses critical technology gaps and enables mission success, by helping soldiers be where they need to be, when they need to be there, while keeping them safe. The system provides GPS anti-spoofing and anti-jamming capability through sensor fusion algorithms and non-radio frequency sensors to distribute trusted positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), allowing soldiers to operate where military GPS is denied or degraded and providing PNT threat overmatch to U.S. forces.
As Smith has been supporting the Mounted PNT team for over a decade, he has been able to directly contribute to the success of MAPS GEN II from its inception through the entirety of its journey so far. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 2012, Smith worked as contractor, supporting the identification of the need, system requirements development, state-of-the-art technology assessments, experimentation, program protection, security classification, and acquisition planning. Since being selected into civilian service in 2022 as a MAPS GEN II lead systems engineer, Smith has been responsible for technical requirements, architecture, development and technical reviews along with operational testing, integration, and fielding. His contributions and oversight paved the way for prototyping best-of-breed PNT technologies and a quick transition to a fielding-ready capability, enabling successful execution of the MAPS GEN II Initial Operational Test and Evaluation and ultimately, the full-rate production.
According to Mounted PNT Technical Director Faraz Nathaniel, Smith’s subject matter expertise in software, space and systems engineering were critical to MAPS GEN II’s success. “He has an admirable work ethic, and never backs down when faced with challenges,” said Nathaniel. “He is always seen working towards solutions and ensures the job gets done.”
Smith began his engineering career as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, holding vital roles, including crew commander, space test development engineer, test director, and, notably, intercontinental ballistic missile combat crew commander, where he directly supported the U.S. Strategic Command, Secretary of Defense and President of the United States. Smith received the Command Readiness Medal, three Commendation Medals, and an Achievement Medal during his military service.