PNT ExCom Backs eLoran as a Step to Full GPS Backup System

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December 11, 2015

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Blog

Written by Editor

Inside GNSS
Dee Ann Divis
December 10, 2015

The National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT ExCom) has recommended using enhanced Loran (eLoran) as a near-term alternative to GPS for essential timing data while it determines what capabilities are needed for a comprehensive GPS backup, officials told Congress this week.

In a December 8 letter, Department of Defense (DoD) Deputy Secretary Robert Work and Department of Transportation (DoT) Deputy Secretary Victor Mendez, cochairs of the PNT ExCom, outlined a two-step plan to put the backups in place. Established by a 2004 presidential directive, the PNT ExCom is the highest-level body charged with coordinating GPS-related matters across multiple federal agencies to ensure that the system addresses national priorities as well as military requirements.

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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