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U.S. Leaderless in Space? – INSA Paper & SpaceNews OpEd
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Notes: Two different items on the same underlying theme popped up on our radar recently. The first, an INSA proposal to designate space a critical U.S. infrastructure. The second an OpEd in SpaceNews by two highly respected analysts...

In first, Russian test strikes satellite using Earth-based missile – Washington Post
Image: US Department of Defense Blog Editor's Note: There are lots of reasons folks who care about GPS and other GNSS should worry about this. It shows Russia is practising taking out satellites. Space Force and DIA have warned about hunter-killer satellites,...

OneWeb LEO PNT: Progress or Risky Gamble? – Inside GNSS
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: A very interesting article by Ramsey Faragher and Marek Ziebart. We have written before about the differences between radionavigation and radiocommunication in conjunction with the Ligado controversy. This is a very...

PNT Advisory Board to Meet Dec. 9-10: GPS World
Image: NASA Blog Editor's Note: All RNT Foundation members are invited to a reception at 5:30 8 December at the same venue as the Advisory Board meeting, and the Foundation's annual meeting and lunch at noon on the 10th of December at the same location. Both events...

What Happens If Time Gets Hacked – Dark Reading
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: Interesting report from Black Hat Europe. While this is the first media report we have seen of a low frequency time signal being spoofed/hacked, it is not surprising. Open systems and signals are vulnerable. Period. Next gen...

An object is now orbiting alongside China’s Shijian-21 debris mitigation satellite – SpaceNews
Image: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Blog Editor's Note: America used to think space was a safe place, so we put a lot of our most important assets there. We thought GPS was particularly safe because attacking a satellite was hard, and destroying...

Experts Call for a U.S. National Technology Strategy as Competition Heats Up with China – NextGov
Image: Senator Michael Bennet, Colorado (Shutterstock) Blog Editor's Note: Well, China is way ahead of us in hypersonics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G... anything else? Oh, yeah - where we have one satellite system for PNT, they have three. Where we...

Congressman to Introduce Webinar on Protecting GPS – DomPrep & RNTF
Image: RNT Foundation Press Release 5 November 2021, 10:00 EST Congressman to Introduce Webinar on Protecting GPS The Honorable John Garamendi (D-CA) will provide opening remarks for a 17 November webinar co-sponsored by Domestic Preparedness Journal and...

L3 Harris Wins $120 Million Contract To Upgrade Space Force Electronic Jammers – Space News
Image: Members of the 4th Space Control Squadron stand in front of the Counter Communications System Block 10.2 at Peterson Space Force Base, Colo. Photo: U.S. Air Force Blog Editor's Note: A jammer to jam jammers. A whole lot of jamming goin' on. Just sayin'. ...

eLoran: Part of the solution to GNSS vulnerability – GPS World
Image: Former Loran-C transmission antenna at Værlandet, Norway. (Photo: UrsaNav) Blog Editor's Note: Good article by the editor of GPS World magazine. eLoran has been named by numerous studies, including most recently "MarRINav" and the DOT "Complementary PNT and GPS...

Alan Grant named R&D head of General Lighthouse Authorities – GPS World
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: Dr. Alan Grant is a long-time colleague and friend. We are very pleased to see his appointment. Alan Grant named R&D head of General Lighthouse Authorities November 2, 2021 - By Dana Goward The General...

US Ceding PNT Resiliency Leadership to EU, Others – Logan Scott Consulting
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor’s Note: We received this note the other day from highly respected GNSS expert Logan Scott. We share his concerns and want to pass them along to a wider audience. http://www.gpsexpert.net/ One of the things I find discouraging about US...

“Frankly speaking it is not possible to get 100% protection against spoofing.” – GPSPatron at Kaspersky Conference
Image: Kaspersky/ YouTube Blog Editor's Note: Kaspersky Lab is a world renowned Russian cybersecurity company. Very interesting to have this perspective. Note that the US and EU and some other western governments have banned Kaspersky because of suspicions they may...

RNTF to Commerce Dept – PNT, GPS & Info and Comms Technology Supply Chain
Image: Dept of Commerce The RNT Foundation submitted comments to the Department of Commerce this week regarding PNT-related dependencies and risks in the supply chain for the production information and communications technology (ICT) devices. Production of ICT devices...

Cheap and Easy GPS/ GNSS Spoofing – GPSPatron
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: GPSPatron wants to help protect you from GNSS spoofing. But many folks are still skeptical. They think spoofing must be pretty difficult and/or expensive. Not something they need to be concerned about. Kinda like ransomware. Not...

China launches possible ‘satellite-crushing weapon’ – Daily Mail
Image: NASA Blog Editor's Note: We long accepted the expense and difficulty of putting valuable national assets in space because it seemed a relatively safe place. As Space Force and articles like this remind us, that is no longer the case. That China and Russia have...

UN Maritime Organization warns against deliberate GPS, GNSS interference
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: In the fall of 2019, RNT Foundation organized 14 different maritime organizations petitioning the US Coast Guard to raise the issue of deliberate GPS and GNSS jamming to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). IMO...

GNSS & eLoran – European Security and Defence
Image: RNT Foundation Blog Editor's Note: Interesting article that includes quotes from our member Hellen Systems and our colleague RADM(ret) Nick Lambert, Royal Navy. One critique. The article states " LORAN has largely fallen out of use..." - Only true if your whole...

Senate proposes $15M to develop GPS alternatives – GPS World
Image: RNT Foundation Blog Editor's Note: The author is President of the RNT Foundation. Senate proposes $15M to develop GPS alternatives October 20, 2021 - By Dana Goward This week Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chair of the Senate Appropriations...

Some Computers Could Crash Sunday Due to A Bug in Getting GPS Derived Time – ZDNet
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Notes: Really, really interesting piece about the importance of time that also shows the dangers of getting time from only one source. We think it would be a great idea if Americans, like folks in China, Russia, and South Korea, could...

TrustPoint raises $2 million for GPS alternative – Space News
Image: Lockheed- Martin Blog Editor's Note: In-space alternatives to GPS/GNSS are proliferating. Trustpoint is surging forward, per the below article, and Xona is getting ready to put a demo satellite in orbit (full disclosure, Xona is an RNTF corporate member)....

European Space Agency and UK National Air Traffic Services select CGI to develop 5G for UAV positioning – CGI
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: We have heard about projects to 5G for positioning. This is the first government-sponsored effort we have come across, though. A promising idea for those areas where there is or will be 5G coverage. Still, it's important to note...

RNT Foundation proposes attributes for resilient timing RFP – GPS World
A National Resilient Timing Architecture should include delivery by fiber and RF along with space-based, according to the RNT Foundation. Image: RNT Foundation Blog Editor's Note: The author is president of the RNT Foundation. Special thanks to Dr. Pat Diamond...

Europe awards seven contracts for alternative PNT demos – GPS World
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: The author of the below article is President of the RNT Foundation. Europe awards seven contracts for alternative PNT demos October 13, 2021 - By Dana Goward A notice of award was posted Oct. 11 by the...

Norway Experiments With Jamming
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: Norway has long been beset by Russia jamming GPS in its far north. Now the government of Norway is doing some jamming of its own. But it's not jamming Russia. It is jamming at home. Two Norwegian press accounts below. One about...

FAA Fumbled Its Response To a Surge in GPS Jamming – IEEE Spectrum
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: One of the first questions skeptics ask is "When GPS isn't available, why don't aircraft just use the backup network of terrestrial aviation nav beacons?" - These beacons are called "VORs" and "DMEs," by the way. Well, some...

Implementation of GPS Attacks on DJI Phantom 3 Standard Drone as a Security Vulnerability Test – IEEE Xplore
Image: DJI Phantom 3 from DJI.com Blog Editor's Note: These kinds of papers are published periodically. This one from October of last year is one of the most recent. We thought it would be a good follow-on to the item we posted several days ago about drones falling...

Royal Institute Contributes to U.S. Discussion of Resilient PNT in Transportation
Image: Greenwich Observatory, UK - Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: We are delighted the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) took time the other day to file a comment to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Request for Information titled "America's Supply Chains...

DHS Publishes Two Free Resources to Protect Critical Infrastructure from GPS Vulnerabilities – Homeland Security Today
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: DHS, especially the Science and Technology Directorate, continues to be very active providing technical information like this. Once again - well done! We earnestly hope an increasing number of companies will use this information...

GPS, PNT, & American Freight / Logistics Supply Chain Security – Response to Govt Questions
Image: Shutterstock Supply chain security has been a big focus of the Biden administration, almost from day one. As part of this, various agencies and departments have been seeking public comment on how to make different supply chains safer, more efficient and more...

Huge Drone Display Falls From Sky – Video on Twitter
Image: 吴文行wenxingwu Here is an interesting item we came across. Seems there was a big drone display/demonstration in Zhengzhou, China when all of a sudden the drones started falling from the sky. To quote the Twitter post: "Word on the street is that a rival drone...

Artillerymen Must Be Ready to Operate in Space Degraded, Denied Environments, Spacecom Leader Says – ASD News
Image: US Army Blog Editor's Note: In many ways the Department of Defense is slowing coming to grips with this issue. Though the recent GAO report shows, as an institution, they have a long way to go. The headline could easily be changed from "Artillerymen" to...

Positioning Navigation, and Timing: New Needs for a New Century – American Center for Democracy
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: Dr. Gene McCall is the former Chief Scientist for Space Command. He has always brought interesting perspectives to PNT issues. We are not at all qualified to evaluate the many issues and proposals in his paper. Generally,...

Fears over Scots fishing boat safety posed by major NATO exercise – The Herald
Image Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: We see regular claims that GPS isn't essential. That different modes of transportation have alternate ways of navigating. All true. Yet when GPS equipment isn't working on a passenger aircraft, the flight is delayed until the...

Scientists create their own GPS by spying on internet satellites – Science.org
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: An interesting article. Army Futures Command has also been looking at this working with the University of Texas Radionavigation Lab. Todd Humphrey also presented about this work along the same lines at ION last week. Also, you...

Terrorists Shouldn’t Take Your Time – Forbes
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: Another good article for the general public by our member Diana Furchtgott-Roth explaining a rather complex issue. The timing services Hoptroff and others provide via fiber are part of what should be an essential timing...

Xona Space Systems fully funds GPS-alternative demo mission – SpaceNews
Image: Xona Space Systems Blog Editor's Note: A big announcement from Xona Space Systems yesterday. - Full disclosure, Xona is an RNTF corporate member. This is likely good timing for Xona. Government interest in LEO PNT seems to be growing. DARPA has a LEO PNT...

Why China’s space programme is worrisome and may spark a space war – The Times of Indian
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: S1fy is a new media outlet for us. This item seems well written and reasonably thoughtful. With respect to the danger to America's GPS we note that: It is likely our most valuable asset in space and therefore one of the highest...

GPS Disruption Warning – U.S. Maritime Administration
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: This is the most recent warning issued for GPS disruption by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). For most of the last four or five years MARAD has had a similar warning active and on the books. The advisory points out that...

U.S. generals planning for a space war they see as all but inevitable – SpaceNews
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: If you really need electricity and there is a chance the grid might go down, you get a generator... If there is a chance your ship will be torpedoed, you make sure you have a lifeboat... If you might not have PNT from space......

How should we secure PNT resilience? – GPS World Editorial Advisory Board
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: There is a lot to unpack in the three short responses to the question posted to the panel. Our response to their answers is "all of the above." We absolutely need A holistic approach that includes interference detection and...

GPS Lessons from Before 9/11 Still Endanger the U.S. – Nextgov
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: The author is President of the RNT Foundation. GPS Lessons from Before 9/11 Still Endanger the U.S. By Dana A. Goward, President, Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 02:16 PM ET “Public...

Galileo, OneWeb and the UK’s sovereignty way forward – GPS World
Image: Wikimedia Commons Tony Ray Blog Editor's Note: The author of the below article is President of the RNT Foundation Galileo, OneWeb and the UK’s sovereignty way forward September 15, 2021 - By Dana Goward A discussion with Admiral Lord West Admiral...

Could a GPS 9/11 Happen? – Location Business News
Image: US Department of Defense Blog Editor' s Note: Most of our potential comments are already in the below article. Though somehow "get the bullseye off GPS" didn't make it in. 🙂 Could a GPS 9/11 Happen? By Kevin Dennehy September 15, 2021 More industry...

Attack on GPS the Next 9-11? – Video Report KPIX News, San Francisco
Image: KPIX This four minute piece from the CBS affiliate in San Francisco poses an interesting question. There are certainly plenty of individuals, groups, and governments out there who might like to bring the U.S. to its knees. For example, in 1996 China suffered...

Strengthening PNT to Avert Economic Setbacks – GW Prime
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: A good overview article. One note, though. The $1.3B loss per day shown for the U.S. should we be without GPS comes from an RTI study done for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. That seems like a big loss that...

Two years since the Tesla GPS hack – GPS World
Image: Roi Mit Blog Editor's Note: An interesting reminder of a hallmark event within the PNT community. We are sure it had a significant impact on the folks at Tesla, and probably significant but probably lesser impact at other car companies. We would have hoped...

House Armed Services Committee Interested in New, Non-GPS PNT Constellation
Image: USAF, 2d Lt Jacob Lutz, AFRL/RV The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2022, which begins on the first of October, requires the Secretary of the Air Force to provide a briefing to the Armed Services Committee about establishment of a...

Synchronization: The critical element of 5G Networks – Dhiman Chowdhury on Linkedin
Image:Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: Good posting on Linkedin. A few thoughts: China has a huge edge over the US on 5G because of this. While US networks rely heavily (almost exclusively) on GPS, China has and is improving its comprehensive timing infrastructure. It...

Galileo replacement gets green light after UK snubbed EU return: ‘Not spending millions’ – Express
Image: Shutterstock Blog Editor's Note: Lots of steps this week in the dance between the UK and EU. We have been on the verge of posting something about it several times. This seems like the end of this phase, though, so a good time to recap, which this article does....