NOVEMBER 26, 2025 — In honor of the United States Navy’s 250th birthday, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is celebrating five Navy innovations that became groundbreaking technologies and shape the lives of people around the world.
From how we drive to how we communicate, NRL’s legacy of scientific excellence continues to power progress far beyond the fleet. For more than a century, NRL has been the Navy’s premier research institution, where fundamental science and engineering breakthroughs evolve into technologies that touch every aspect of modern life.
Here are five innovations developed by NRL scientists for military applications that now serve civilian society every day:
GPS Technology
NRL’s early work in satellite navigation laid the scientific foundation for the Global Positioning System (PDF). In the 1960s, NRL engineers developed the Timation (short for “Time Navigation”) satellite, which proved that satellites equipped with precise atomic clocks could provide accurate position data anywhere on Earth. This work directly contributed to the GPS constellation in use today, enabling everything from turn-by-turn directions in cars to real-time ride-sharing and location tracking on smartphones.
Lithium-Ion Battery Advancements
NRL was among the first research institutions to investigate the potential of lithium-based rechargeable batteries in the 1970s. This technology proved to be an important power source for the Navy’s unmanned systems. The lab’s pioneering work in electrochemistry and energy storage informed the commercial development of lithium-ion batteries, now found in nearly every portable electronic device, including cell phones, laptops, power tools, and electric vehicles. NRL’s battery research continues to influence safer and more efficient energy storage technologies today.
Radar Technology
NRL developed the first operational radar system in the United States in 1939, a critical wartime innovation that revolutionized naval defense. That same technology now powers modern air traffic control systems, helps meteorologists predict hurricanes and severe storms through Doppler weather radar, and even enables the speed detection devices used by law enforcement. NRL’s radar legacy remains a key pillar of both military readiness and public safety.
Fiber Optic Communication
As early as the 1970s, NRL scientists were exploring the use of glass fibers to transmit data using light. Their innovations in fiber optic materials, signal amplification, and laser communications (PDF) laid the groundwork for the high-speed internet and digital communications we rely on today creating a secure high speed way to move information and connect military platforms and systems around the world. From video calls to streaming movies, fiber optics developed at NRL help carry the modern world’s information infrastructure.
Satellite Communications
NRL was instrumental in launching Project Vanguard and the United States’ first scientific satellite in the 1950s, which kickstarted the era of space-based communications. This changed the way the Navy communicates and operates. The lab’s trailblazing efforts in secure, high-frequency communications via satellite directly informed the systems that now enable satellite TV, global broadband, GPS timing signals, and international phone and data services.
As the Navy marks its 250th year of service, NRL remains at the forefront of discovery, continuing to develop technologies that serve the fleet, and ultimately, the world.
About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL, located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.
NRL offers several mechanisms for collaborating with the broader scientific community, within and outside of the Federal government. These include Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), LP-CRADAs, Educational Partnership Agreements, agreements under the authority of 10 USC 4892, licensing agreements, FAR contracts, and other applicable agreements.
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at NRLPAO@us.navy.mil.
From Jameson Crabtree
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications