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{{Short description|NATO global coordinate reference system}}
{{Geodesy}}
The '''Military Grid Reference System''' ('''MGRS''') is the geocoordinate standard used by [[NATO]] militaries for geo-referencing, position reporting, and situational awareness during land operations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Library/Instructions/CJCSI%203900.01E.pdf |title=CJCSI 3900.01E Position (POS), Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and Global Positioning System (GPS) Requirements |publisher=Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |date=10 February 2023 |access-date=27 June 2025 |page=A-2 |quote=The Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) is the standard for military land operations for geo-referencing and position reporting.}}</ref> An MGRS coordinate does not represent a single point, but rather defines a square grid area on the Earth's surface. The ___location of a specific point is therefore referenced by the MGRS coordinate of the area that contains it. The MGRS is derived from the [[Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system|Universal Transverse Mercator]] (UTM) and [[Universal Polar Stereographic coordinate system|Universal Polar Stereographic]] (UPS) grid systems and is used as a [[geocode]] for the entire Earth.
An example of an ''MGRS coordinate'', or ''grid reference'', is [{{Coor URL}}21_24_35.43062452380_N_157_54_57.89102787040_W_&language=en <code>4Q FJ 1234 6789</code>], which consists of three parts:
* <code>4Q</code> (grid zone designator, GZD)
* <code>FJ</code> (the 100,000-meter square identifier)
* <code>1234 6789</code> (numerical ___location; [[Easting and northing|easting]] is <code>1234</code> and [[Easting and northing|northing]] is <code>6789</code>, in this case specifying a ___location with 10 m resolution)
For machine-readability and database storage, all spaces may be removed.
An MGRS grid reference represents a square area on the Earth's surface, rather than a single point.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/properties/military-grid-reference-system.htm |title=Military Grid Reference System |website=ArcGIS Pro |publisher=Esri |access-date=25 June 2025 |quote=An MGRS coordinate defines an area on the Earth's surface as opposed to a specific point.}}</ref> A ''grid square'' references a square or polygon on the Earth with a side length of 10 km, 1 km, 100 m, 10 m or 1 m, depending on the precision of the coordinates provided. (In some cases, squares adjacent to a Grid Zone Junction (GZJ) are clipped, so "polygon" may be a better descriptor of such areas.)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left;"
|+ MGRS precision levels
! MGRS Coordinate
! Precision (side length)
|-
| <code>4Q FJ</code>
| 100,000-meter square
|-
| <code>4Q FJ 1 6</code>
| 10,000-meter square
|-
| <code>4Q FJ 12 67</code>
| 1,000-meter square
|-
| <code>4Q FJ 123 678</code>
| 100-meter square
|-
| <code>4Q FJ 1234 6789</code>
| 10-meter square
|-
| <code>4Q FJ 12345 67890</code>
| 1-meter square
|}
The number of digits in the numerical ___location must be even: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10, depending on the desired precision. When changing precision levels, it is important to [[truncate]] rather than [[rounding|round]] the easting and northing values to ensure the more precise square will remain within the boundaries of the less precise square.
Related to this is the primacy of the southwest corner of the square being the labeling point for the entire square. (In instances where the polygon is not a square and has been clipped by a grid zone junction, the polygon keeps the label of the southwest corner as if it had not been clipped.)
[[Google Maps]] recognizes MGRS grid references which have a one-meter square precision (10-digit numerical ___location) with spaces permitted only between the 100,000-meter square, the easting, and the northing: e.g., <code>4QFJ 12345 67890</code>. The mapping application returns a dropped pin representing the [[centroid]] of the area referenced.
==Grid zone designation==
[[File:Universal_Transverse_Mercator_zones.svg|thumb|300px|UTM zones on an equirectangular world map with irregular zones in red and New York City's zone highlighted]]
The first part of an MGRS coordinate is the ''grid-zone designation''. The 6° wide UTM zones, numbered 1–60, are intersected by latitude bands that are normally 8° high, lettered C–X (omitting I and O). The northmost latitude band, X, is 12° high. The intersection of a UTM zone and a latitude band is (normally) a 6° × 8° polygon called a ''grid zone'', whose ''designation'' in MGRS is formed by the zone number (one or two digits – the number for zones 1 to 9 is just a single digit, according to the example in DMA TM 8358.1, Section 3-2,<ref name="DMA8358_1_Chapter3">[http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/publications/tm8358.1/tr83581b.html#ZZ26 DMA Technical Manual 8358.1, Chapter 3.] Datums, Ellipsoids, Grids, and Grid Reference Systems</ref> Figure 7), followed by the latitude band letter (uppercase). This same notation is used in both UTM and MGRS, i.e. the UTM grid reference system; the article on [[Universal Transverse Mercator]] shows many maps of these grid zones, including the irregularities for Svalbard and southwest Norway.
As Figure 1 illustrates, Honolulu is in grid zone 4Q.
[[Image:MGRSgridOriginSchemeAA.png|thumb|Figure 1. The origin of the MGRS grid, in the Pacific. Honolulu is in 4QFJ.]]
==100,000-meter square identification==
The second part of an MGRS coordinate is the ''100,000-meter square identification''. Each UTM zone is divided into 100,000 meter squares, so that their corners have UTM-coordinates that are multiples of 100,000 meters. The ''identification'' consists of a column letter (A–Z, omitting I and O) followed by a row letter (A–V, omitting I and O).
Near the equator, the columns of UTM zone 1 have the letters A–H, the columns of UTM zone 2 have the letters J–R (omitting O), and the columns of UTM zone 3 have the letters S–Z. At zone 4, the column letters start over from A, and so on around the world.
For the row letters, there are actually two alternative lettering schemes within MGRS:
* In the ''AA scheme'',<ref name="MGRS_Final_Guidance">
[http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/coordsys/MGRS_Final_Guidance.doc NGA Guidance for the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS).]</ref> also known as ''MGRS-New'',<ref name="Military_Map_Reading_201">{{cite web|url=http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/coordsys/mmr201.pdf|title=Military Map Reading 201|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224185834/earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/coordsys/mmr201.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2021}}, published by [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency|NGA]]</ref> which is used for [[WGS84]] and some other modern [[datum (geodesy)|geodetic datum]]s, the letter for the first row – just north of the equator – is A in odd-numbered zones, and F in even-numbered zones, as shown in figure 1. Note that the westmost square in this row, in zone 1, has identification AA.
* In the alternative ''AL scheme'',<ref name="MGRS_Final_Guidance"/> also known as ''MGRS-Old'',<ref name="Military_Map_Reading_201"/> which is used for some older [[datum (geodesy)|geodetic datum]]s, the row letters are shifted 10 steps in the alphabet. This means that the letter for the first row is L in odd-numbered zones and R in even-numbered zones. The westmost square in the first row, in zone 1, has identification AL.
If an MGRS coordinate is complete (with both a grid zone designation and a 100,000 meter square identification), and is valid in one lettering scheme, then it is usually invalid in the other scheme, which will have no such 100,000 meter square in the grid zone. (Latitude band X is the exception to this rule.) Therefore, a position reported in a modern [[datum (geodesy)|datum]] usually cannot be misunderstood as using an old datum, and vice versa – provided the datums use different MGRS lettering schemes.
In the map (figure 1), which uses the AA scheme, we see that Honolulu is in grid zone 4Q, and square FJ. To give the position of Honolulu with 100 km resolution, we write 4QFJ.
[[Image:MGRSgridHawaiiSchemeAARealigned.png|thumb|Figure 2. The MGRS grid around Hawaii. Honolulu is in the 10 km square that is called 4QFJ15.]]
==Numerical ___location==
The third part of an MGRS coordinate is the ''numerical ___location'' within a 100,000 meter square, given as ''n'' + ''n'' digits, where ''n'' is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. If 5 + 5 digits is used, the first 5 digits give the easting in meters, measured from the left edge of the square, and the last 5 digits give the northing in meters, measured from the bottom edge of the square. The resolution in this case is 1 meter, so the MGRS coordinate would represent a 1-meter square, where the easting and northing are measured to its southwest corner. If a resolution of 10 meters is enough, the final digit of the easting and northing can be dropped, so that only 4 + 4 digits are used, representing a 10-meter square. If a 100-meter resolution is enough, 3 + 3 digits suffice; if a 1 km resolution is enough, 2 + 2 digits suffice; if 10 km resolution is enough, 1 + 1 digits suffice.
10 meter resolution (4 + 4 digits) is sufficient for many purposes, and is the NATO standard for specifying coordinates.
If we zoom in on Hawaii (figure 2), we see that the square that contains Honolulu, if we use 10 km resolution, would be written 4QFJ15.
If the grid zone or 100,000-meter square are clear from context, they can be dropped, and only the numerical ___location is specified. For example:
*If every position being located is within the same grid zone, only the 100,000-meter square and numerical ___location are specified.
*If every position being located is within the same grid zone and 100,000-meter square, only the numerical ___location is specified.
*However, even if every position being located is within a small area, but the area overlaps multiple 100,000-meter squares or grid zones, the entire grid reference is required.
One always reads map coordinates from west to east first (easting), then from south to north (northing). Common mnemonics include "in the house, up the stairs", "left-to-right, bottom-to-top" and "Read Right Up".
===Truncation, not rounding===
As mentioned above, when converting UTM coordinates to an MGRS grid reference, or when abbreviating an MGRS grid reference to lower precision, coordinates are {{em|truncated}}, and not rounded up (which would indicate the next adjacent grid square instead of the surrounding square).
This was once controversial as the oldest specification, TM8358.1,<ref name="DMA8358_1_Chapter3"/> indicated rounding, and early versions of GEOTRANS<ref name="Geotrans">[http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/geotrans/index.html GEOTRANS] Geographic Translator software and source code from the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.</ref> followed suit.
However, truncation has been applied in GEOTRANS since version 3.0, as well as in NGA Military Map Reading 201<ref name="Military_Map_Reading_201"/> (page 5) and in the U.S. Army Field Manual 3-25.26.<ref name="Field_Manual_3_25_26">[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-25-26/index.html Map Reading and Land Navigation], U.S. Army Field Manual No. 3-25.26 (see section 4-6).</ref>
Likewise, the civilian/continental version of MGRS, [[USNG]], specifies truncation.<ref name="Cavell">J. Anthony Cavell, [http://www.amerisurv.com/PDF/TheAmericanSurveyor_USNationalGrid-Cavell_June2005.pdf USNG: Getting it right the first time]. ''The American Surveyor,'' June 2005.</ref>
==Squares that cross a latitude band boundary==
The boundaries of the latitude bands are parallel circles (dashed black lines in figure 1), which do not coincide with the boundaries of the 100,000-meter squares (blue lines in figure 1). For example, at the boundary between grid zones 1P and 1Q, we find a 100,000-meter square BT, of which about two thirds is south of latitude 16° and therefore in grid zone 1P, while one third is north of 16° and therefore in 1Q. So, an MGRS grid reference for a position in BT should begin with 1PBT in the south part of BT, and with 1QBT in the north part of BT. At least, this is possible if the precision of the grid reference is enough to place the denoted area completely inside either 1P or 1Q.
But an MGRS grid reference can denote an area that crosses a latitude band boundary. For example, when describing the entire square BT, should it be called 1PBT or 1QBT? Or when describing the 1000-meter square BT8569, should it be called 1PBT8569 or 1QBT8569? In these cases, software that interprets an MGRS grid reference should accept both of the possible latitude band letters. A practical motivation was given in the release notes for GEOTRANS,<ref name="Geotrans"/> Release 2.0.2, 1999:
<blockquote>The MGRS module was changed to make the final latitude check on MGRS to UTM conversions sensitive to the precision of the input MGRS coordinate string. The lower the input precision, the more "slop" is allowed in the final check on the latitude zone letter. This is to handle an issue raised by some F-16 pilots, who truncate MGRS strings that they receive from the Army. This truncation can put them on the wrong side of a latitude zone boundary, causing the truncated MGRS string to be considered invalid. The correction causes truncated strings to be considered valid if any part of the square which they denote lies within the latitude zone specified by the third letter of the string.</blockquote>
==Polar regions==
[[Image:MGRSgridSouthPole.png|thumb|Figure 3. The MGRS grid around the South Pole.]]
[[Image:MGRSgridNorthPole.png|thumb|Figure 4. The MGRS grid around the North Pole.]]
In the polar regions, a different convention is used.<ref name="Appendix_B">[http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/publications/tm8358.1/tr83581f.html DMA Technical Manual 8358.1, Appendix B.] Datums, Ellipsoids, Grids, and Grid Reference Systems.</ref> South of 80°S, UPS South ([[Universal Polar Stereographic]]) is used instead of a UTM projection. The west half-circle forms a grid zone with designation A; the east half-circle forms one with designation B; see figure 3. North of 84°N, UPS North is used, and the west half-circle is Y, the east one is Z; see figure 4. Since the letters A, B, Y, and Z are not used for any latitude bands of UTM, their presence in an MGRS coordinate, with the omission of a zone number, indicates that the coordinates are in the UPS system.
The lettering scheme for 100,000 m squares is slightly different in the polar regions. The column letters use a more restricted alphabet, going from A to Z but omitting D, E, I, M, N, O, V, W; the columns are arranged so that the rightmost column in grid zone A and Y has column letter Z, and the next column in grid zone B or Z starts over with column letter A. The row letters go from A to Z, omitting I and O. The restricted column alphabet for UPS ensures that no UPS square will be adjacent to a UTM square with the same identification.
In the polar regions, there is only one version of the lettering scheme.<ref name="Appendix_B"/>
==See also==
There are other geographic naming systems of this alphanumeric kind:
*[[Global Area Reference System]] (GARS) has been adopted by the [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]] for use across the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] for certain applications. GARS defines areas of 30x30, 15x15, and no smaller than 5x5 minutes of latitude and longitude.
*[[Ordnance Survey National Grid]] is another Transverse Mercator system designed for locations in the British Isles
*[[Irish Transverse Mercator]] has replaced the [[Irish grid reference system]]
*[[United States National Grid]] (USNG), developed by the [[Federal Geographic Data Committee]], is an implementation of MGRS for the United States and its possessions.
*[[World Geographic Reference System]] (GEOREF) has been used for air navigation, but is rarely seen today.
*[[Maidenhead Locator System]] is used by amateur radio operators.
*[[Natural Area Code]]
==References==
{{Citations broken|section|date=March 2022}}
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{commonscat|Military Grid Reference System}}
*[http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/coordsys/coordsys_f.html A list of coordinate systems] – by Prof. Peter H. Dana at the Univ. of Colorado
*[http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/coordsys/grids/referencesys.html Grids and Reference Systems], by [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency|NGA]].
* Army Study Guide: [http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/Prep_For_Basic_Training/Prep_for_basic_land_navigation/locate-a-point-using-the-.shtml Locate a point using the US Army Military Grid Reference System (MGRS)]
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{{Geocoding-systems}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Grid Reference System}}
[[Category:Geographic coordinate systems]]
[[Category:Military cartography]]
[[Category:Geodesy]]
[[Category:Geocodes]]
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