Image: John Hartzell
What’s New: A trio of items showing the challenges of making GPS more secure and perform better.
Why It’s Important: PNT is essential. Most of our PNT comes from GPS and we have nothing else on the horizon. If GPS signals are not available for any significant amount of time… Well, we don’t want to live through that day or week.
What Else to Know:
- Despite the importance of PNT to the military, GPS and other PNT issues are addressed by a large number of committees within the Pentagon. And when everyone is in charge, no one is.
- The services and labs all have projects for non-GPS PNT underway. These don’t seem to be coordinated. To the best of our knowledge, there isn’t even a monthly newsletter about non-GPS PNT efforts to let all the projects know what the others are doing.
- Note the Vice Chief at Space Force comment that they are still in the “study and analysis phase.” Pretty much where America has been on such issues since NSPD-39 in 2004.
Fast Facts
DOD has been working for years to upgrade GPS with a military-specific signal known as M-code that resists interference or jamming.
Amid ongoing delays, DOD has made some progress developing the necessary ground, space, and user equipment to use M-code. But DOD faces challenges with all 3 segments.
For example, the ground segment modernization finished some key testing, but more testing and demonstration are needed before the system will be ready for use. And, the Air Force’s development of receivers that process M-code has been delayed. So, DOD hasn’t been able to make sure these receivers work in the places where they’ll be used, like planes.
For another view:
Jam-resistant GPS elusive as M-code delays pile up: GAO
To make matters worse, the Defense Department is now facing down a possible shortage of microchips and processor cards to allow ground vehicles, ships and aircraft to access GPS at all, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.
Space Force Studying How It Will Bolster GPS: Vice Chief
Despite the Space Force’s “laser-focused” effort to accelerate an initiative to bolster its GPS constellation, the service’s No. 2 officer said the effort is mostly in the study and analysis phase.
