Article

2006-10-21 Fifth Column

India May Quit EU-led GPS project - Galileo

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Posted by 3dc 2006-10-21 00:46|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 A wise decision.

Posted by mojo">mojo 2006-10-21 01:08|| 2006-10-21 01:08|| Front Page Top

#2 Yes it is, especially since it is nothing but a money pit. Ours is cheaper, better, faster and also makes Fries and has a lemon fresh scent!

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2006-10-21 03:05|| 2006-10-21 03:05|| Front Page Top

#3 Actually India's concern is that any vehicle or weapon that used the Galileo system could be tracked by a another Galileo user who has the master codes-ie,China.,or the data could be sold to a third party(cough,Pakistan,cough)by some greedy EU technician. Having an opponent know exactly where every active weapons depot and armored vehicle is would tend to make operations a tad more difficult,not to mention setting oneself up for a preemptive strike. Seems that nobody could assure India that couldn't happen.

Methinks the Euros haven't thought this one through.If Galileo goes operational w/assorted EU militaries,China-as well as France,Germany,Britain,etc-will hold veto power over any use of military force.

Posted by Stephen 2006-10-21 03:42|| 2006-10-21 03:42|| Front Page Top

#4 How would such tracking work? These systems use receivers at the user's end, they don't transmit. If a military vehicle transmits its location it would use a secure comm system independent of Galileo.

Posted by HV 2006-10-21 06:29|| 2006-10-21 06:29|| Front Page Top

#5 I wonder if India has gotten access to an alternative?

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-10-21 08:32|| 2006-10-21 08:32|| Front Page Top

#6 India has signed an agreement with Russia for military grade access to the Russian GLONASS system.

India will build and launch some of the replacement satellites required to get the constellation opertational.

It also intends to launch its own limited regional satnav system - to cover the subcontinent and parts of China

Posted by john 2006-10-21 10:03|| 2006-10-21 10:03|| Front Page Top

#7 #4
The Euros intend to use the system for a EU wide road toll system.
It must be set up to require each receiver to have a unique identity.

It's a classic of EU thinking. With our system you know where you are and with their system, they know where you are!

Posted by dogsbody 2006-10-21 13:48|| 2006-10-21 13:48|| Front Page Top

#8 Galileo isn't designed for military use, primarily, but as dogsbody says, for the nanny state to both automate and control many aspects of daily life.

It's interesting that Europeans are willing to surrender this much control over personal information. For toll roads, most European countries originally adopted a system of pre-paid anonymous cards, unlike our Easy Pass system that is based on aerospace transponders which do have an id code embedded in them. When I had some involvement in this arena in the early 90s, it was quite common for Europeans to criticize the Dulles Toll Road outside of DC for its lack of privacy. But Galileo is lack of privacy in spades!

I understand the attractiveness of the Galileo project -- in theory. In theory this gives them a huge leg up on an automated world.

But their projects tend not to work in practice, for a whole variety of reasons, many cultural.

GLONASS is a rather different matter, potentially. Like GPS, GLONASS IIRC has dual bands, one with much higher precision for military use. The Russians never got their full constellation of satellites up and running, though, so by adopting GLONASS India would be helping to remedy that. These wouldn't be "replacement" satellites, but filling out the constellation for initial full capability.

We'll see which way India goes re: strategic partnerships, i.e. whether those in favor of allying with the US will influence decisions, or those who wish to regain / retain close relationships with Moscow.

Posted by lotp 2006-10-21 14:14|| 2006-10-21 14:14|| Front Page Top

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