South Korea revives GPS backup project after blaming North for jamming - Reuters

South Korea revives GPS backup project after blaming North for jamming – Reuters

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May 3, 2016

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Blog

Written by Editor

REUTERS, 1 May 2016

SEOUL/LONDON | BY JACK KIM AND JONATHAN SAUL

[Blog Editor’s Note – While maritime needs are discussed in this article, all modes of transport (including aviation) and all technologies need a complementary and backup PNT system for when GPS is disrupted – DAG]

South Korea has revived a project to build a backup ship navigation system that would be difficult to hack after a recent wave of GPS signal jamming attacks it blamed on North Korea disrupted fishing vessel operations, officials say.

Global Positioning System (GPS) and other electronic navigation aids are vulnerable to signal loss from solar weather effects, radio and satellite interference and deliberate jamming.

South Korea, which says it has faced repeated attempts by the rival North to interfere with satellite signals, will award a 15 billion won ($13 million) contract this month to secure technology required to build an alternative land-based radio system called eLoran, which it hopes will provide reliable alternative position and timing signals for navigation.

PNT is the quiet backbone of everything but too many leaders still don't see the risk.

But you do. You understand the systems, the dependencies, the failure chains. That insight is rare — and it's exactly what your country needs right now. Contact your government leaders and industry decision-makers and tell them resilient PNT isn't a feature — it's the foundation everything else depends on.

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