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| Middle East |
| GPS Goes to War (Again) |
| 2003-03-19 |
| Edited for brevity The Global Positioning System started out decades ago as a satellite-based network for military location and navigation, but in the past few years itâs spawned a host of civilian applications â including high-tech direction-finders for automobiles and hikers. Now GPS is going to war again, raising questions about what happens on the homefront. THE U.S. MILITARY is using GPS as the backbone for its battlefield communication system, as well as the guidance system for a wide array of "smart bombsâ â including the "Mother of All Bombsâ. Such satellite-based guidance systems arenât foolproof, as was demonstrated during the Afghan war, but theyâre considered far less vulnerable to the smoke and fog of war than the laser-guided munitions that played such a large role in the first Gulf War. All this makes the GPS network, which relies on radio readings from a constellation of 27 orbiting satellites, a powerful weapon â and a potential target â during any war in Iraq. Iraqi forces may well try jamming GPS signals, or âspoofingâ GPS transmissions to lead the invading forces astray. Saddam Husseinâs troops also may be using GPS, or Russiaâs less capable Glonass satellite navigation system, for their own purposes. On Slashdot and other forums, GPS users have been debating whether the U.S. military will be âdumbing downâ the satellite readings for civilians, as it once did. Until three years ago, civilian GPS readings were accurate only to a resolution of a football field or so â and thatâs not good enough for todayâs high-precision applications. Back in 2000, the U.S. military said it wouldnât go back to the bad old days of âintentional degradationâ of GPS signals. Instead, it would use more targeted tactics, including selective signal-jamming in the theater of military operations. âPeople outside the theater can expect to use GPS as they have. ... Of course, national security overrides any statement that may have been made,â Langley said. Good news--your GPS toys here should continue to work normally. Bad news--The many GIs using civilian GPSRs (GPS Receivers), like Garmin and Margellan models, might be disappointed. |
| Posted by:Dar Steckelberg |
| #6 Well, I love and trust my Garmin StreetPilot III. Throwing me off by a football field would hork the address finder somewhat, but I could still manage on the highways and cross country. I'd be willing to sacrifice that capability for a few weeks/months for our troops' sake, though! |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-19 16:28:20 |
| #5 I gave up on GPS powered navigation system in cars when it insisted that I should drive right into a canal in Amsterdam. Maps are safer. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-19 15:46:55 |
| #4 Read an article in GPS World recently about Europe's problems with agreements on details for the formation of their Gallileo GPS system. Like who gets the contracts to build what, etc etc. This article gives a brief background of the problem. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-19 14:56:57 |
| #3 One good thing: German drivers might get lost. But while there are thousands of civil users of GPS worldwide, the system was designed for, and is operated by, the US military. The German automobile club AvD said experts fear that just before military action against Iraq, which seems likely to start later this week, the signals will be encoded in order to make them less accurate. The argument is that by doing so, the enemy -- in this case Iraq -- would not be able to exploit the system to pinpoint US-led forces sweeping into the country. Currently, the GPS system has an accuracy to within around five metresfeet), but AvD said it could be reduced to more than 100 metres. Not a big problem for a ship at sea, perhaps, but bad news for drivers in crowded cities. "German drivers could potentially notice the start of the war quicker than the chancellor," AvD spokesman Jochen Hoevekenmeier quipped. |
| Posted by: growler 2003-03-19 14:42:27 |
| #2 1. The military P code is highly encripted, so that is not too much of a worry for us. 2. Enemy spoofing of GPS satellites with directed transmissions toward the satellites will put the enemy in HAARM's way, literally with the enemy getting an enema, so to speak..... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-19 14:41:45 |
| #1 1. Margellan = Magellan 2. Should have included paragraph stating that, even if Iraqis attempt to jam GPS signals, they do not have the military's "P code" to do so, per the article. 3. (To self) Proofread before you post, dummy! |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-19 14:28:21 |