Hoffman Electronics Military Division specialized in air navigation, communications and radar systems. Most of the work and design was done in El Monte, California. In 1957 Hoffman Electronics became a leader in designing airborne navigation systems, called Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN). It is a series of ground- or ship-based transmitter and receiver stations that can provide bearing, slant distance and other related information to any aircraft sending the correct frequency and code. It became a standard navigation system used in U.S. military aircraft, including the U.S. Space Shuttle program. Parts of TACAN can be used for civil aircraft to providing bearing, distance and landing approaches. The development of the Global Positioning System (GPS) will eventually displace TACAN.
