That's where the DARPA ROCkN project comes in. Yet timing technologies based on microwave transitions are limited in precision. Related: DARPA eyes photonic integrated circuits for non-GPS position, navigation, and timing (PNT) Naval Observatory (USNO) master clock in Washington.Īll state-of-the-art atomic clocks today operate using microwave atomic transitions, ranging from prototype atomic fountain clocks that serve as atomic frequency references for the time standard at USNO and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to small commercial Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard (RAFS) clocks that are deployed on GPS satellites. The primary sources of precise time today are GPS satellites, each of which has an atomic clock on board that disseminate precise time throughout the world and reference regularly to the U.S.

Moreover, critical components in many military operations like precision navigation and sensor fusion rely on precision timing. Precision timing is ubiquitous and essential today for many civilian and military applications like communication systems, electrical power grids, air traffic control, and financial networks. Related: Wanted: rugged atomic clock for military positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) in communications and EWīoth clocks are to be engineered sufficiently to operate independent from human operators in outside-the-lab environments for extended periods of time.

Rockn aims to atomic clocks portable