Military aircraft and ships use radar for navigation and weapons fire control. Short-range navigational radar on ships provides an image of the shoreline and other ships in the vicinity. Some have the ability to distinguish moving objects from fixed objects. Airborne radar screens show geographic features such as rivers, lakes, and shorelines. Accurate determination of a ship or aircraft's position in latitude and longitude can also be determined with parabolic navigation systems such as Loran C and satellite navigation systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). Aircraft altitude can be determined precisely with radar altimeters and GPS receivers. Water depth under a ship can be determined precisely with acoustic depth sounders.

Automatic microwave beacons in the identification, friend or foe (IFF) system on ships and aircraft respond to encoded interrogation signals from friendly ship or aircraft radars. The IFF system is intended to protect ships, aircraft, and vehicles from accidental attack by friendly forces. Inertial guidance systems are installed on submarines and long-range aircraft as navigational aids. This equipment might now include laser gyroscopes in place of conventional mechanical gyros and accelerometers. In general, military navigation and position-finding electronics are similar to the civilian versions installed in ships and aircraft.