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What’s new: Interesting observations about GNSS, PNT and “global realignment.”
Why it’s important:
- GNSS and PNT have always been tools in great power competition. It is now becoming more obvious to more people.
- The U.S. is ceding tech leadership to China in this and other areas. This impacts hard and soft power, as well as reduces opportunities for American businesses.
What else to know: A very interesting article, especially since it is from a regional perspective. Of note:
- The Iranian official quoted as seeming to blame GPS disruptions in the region on U.S. forces. – And some of the disruptions maybe.
- From the article:
For decades, the West, and the US in particular, have dominated the world’s technological infrastructure from computer operating systems and the internet to telecommunications and satellite networks.
This has left much of the world dependent on an infrastructure it cannot match or challenge. This dependency can easily become vulnerability. Since 2013, whistleblowers and media investigations have revealed how various Western technologies and schemes have enabled illicit surveillance and data gathering on a global scale – something that has worried governments around the world.
Iran’s plan to abandon GPS is about much more than technology
It is yet another sign of a looming ‘tech cold war’.
For the past few years, governments across the world have paid close attention to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. There, it is said, we see the first glimpses of what warfare of the future will look like, not just in terms of weaponry, but also in terms of new technologies and tactics.
Most recently, the United States-Israeli attacks on Iran demonstrated not just new strategies of drone deployment and infiltration but also new vulnerabilities. During the 12-day conflict, Iran and vessels in the waters of the Gulf experienced repeated disruptions of GPS signal.