Channel estimation and distributed positioning algorithms are presented for geolocation in a wireless ad hoc network. The network uses a direct-sequence code-division multiple-access-based handshaking protocol, in which nodes receive multiple acknowledgment packets in response to a request-to-send waveform. Round-trip travel time (RTT) and angle-of-arrival (AOA) measurements are obtained using the generalized successive interference cancellation/matching pursuits (GSIC/MP) algorithm. The performance of GSIC/MP is evaluated via simulation and comparison to the Crame/spl acute/r-Rao bound. Position estimates are initialized using linearized least-squares and updated by an extended Kalman filter-based algorithm that includes measurement validation for nonline-of-sight error mitigation. The method is generalized for distributed estimation in sparsely connected networks: at each node, position estimates from connected nodes are incorporated via a fusion algorithm and updated using locally processed RTT/AOA measurements. Finally, comprehensive ad hoc network simulations are presented including channel ray tracing, RTT/AOA estimation and validation, and distributed positioning.