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The ‘Father of GPS’ on Assured PNT – in one page

April 5, 2026

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Written by Editor

Image: Brad Parkinson

What’s new: In preparation for this week’s DSI Assured PNT Summit, Dr. Brad Parkinson, the first chief architect of the Global Positioning System, sent us a one pager outlining some of his thoughts.

Why it’s important: Brad has been involved with GPS longer than anyone. His insights as a system engineer are always on point and valuable.

What else to know:

  • Brad makes a number of great points as always. Particularly note the red text. He points out that most systems proposed to augment/complement/backup GPS are still in the demonstration phase. For serious consideration a complete system definition is required.
  • Dr. Parkinson will be attending the DSI Assured PNT Summit. If you are going, it is a great opportunity to meet a huge figure in American history and say ‘hi’.
  • Government employees attend the summit for free.
  • RNTF President Dana A. Goward is moderating the summit again this year.
  • RNTF and ION will be sharing a table in the exhibit area. Stop by!

DOWNLOAD BRAD’S ONE PAGER HERE

What Can YOU Do? How Can YOU Help?

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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