Built from the ground up in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan, Tactical NAV comes from the mind of a U.S. Army Field Artillery officer who had a vision of creating a low-cost and extremely accurate mobile-targeting platform built specifically for U.S. military warfighters.

Tactical NAV’s journey began when two Soldiers were killed in the notorious Pech River Valley of Kunar Province, Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Capt. Jonathan J. Springer, a Fire Support Officer with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) who was on his third combat deployment, began developing the tactical platform immediately following the memorial services for Spc. Blair D. Thompson and Spc. Jared C. Plunk, who were killed in action on June 25, 2010.

After pitching the idea and being turned away by the Department of Defense, Springer remained resolute in his mission to continue building Tactical NAV in order to make a difference for other Soldiers and also honor the men that were killed in battle.

He ended up using his life savings to continue moving forward with the Tactical NAV project, all with the ultimate hope of saving U.S. military lives, and to help his fellow service members accomplish their mission at home and abroad.

Tactical NAV officially launched on the App Store in February of 2011, and then launched on Google Play soon after that.