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Home »Exelis upgrades and tests GPS threat detection technology
From Intelligent Aerospace Exelis engineers have enhanced the company’s Signal Sentry 1000, which detects and locates sources of intentional and unintentional interference to GPS signals, with sensors that increase detection accuracy to better pinpoint the jamming...
What if a Cybersecurity Attack Shut Down Our Ports?
By Lily Hay Newman in Slate It’s a real, and frightening, possibility. It’s easy to forget when you’re on dry land that 90 percent of the world’s goods are shipped on boats. While we worry about the cybersecurity of power grids and nuclear missile silos, most of us...
Jammers Used to Disrupt Global Supply Chain
Here is an advisory from US Customs and Border Protection that shows how jammers are confounding the efforts of yet another governmental agency. [big_button url="https://rntfnd.org/wp-content/uploads/CPB-gps-jamming.pdf"]Read More[/big_button]
House Funding Bill Could Fuel Scrutiny of OCX, GPS Backup Options
Inside GNSS by Dee Ann Divis The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is considering legislation that would fully authorize the White House’s funding request for GPS and possibly add provisions aimed at evaluating the new, troubled GPS ground system and pushing the...
Ash Carter’s Idea of Disruptive Innovation: Unplug the Military From GPS
National Defense magazine By Sandra I. Erwin One of the Pentagon’s best-known inventions, the GPS satellite, could be replaced in the foreseeable future by technology that is far cheaper and more resistant to jamming. Finding an alternative to GPS not only could save...
DARPA looks beyond GPS for positioning, navigating, and timing (from “Physics Today”)
By David Kramer Cold-atom interferometry, microelectromechanical systems, signals of opportunity, and atomic clocks are some of the technologies the defense agency is pursuing to provide precise navigation when GPS is unavailable. [big_button...
60 Minutes “The Battle Above”
Did you see “60 Minutes” last night on CBS? David Martin did an excellent piece called “The Battle Above” about America’s dependence on space and the threats posed by anti-satellite weapons, especially from the Chinese. It featured interviews with General Hyten, commander of Space Command, and Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James.
In GPS+ We Trust
Bernie Madoff. Enron. Michael and Lowell Milken. That red sports car you bought second hand when you were in college. It doesn’t matter how great something or someone looks, or how well they seem to perform if you can’t trust them. A lack of integrity in a person or a technology means that, sooner or later, they /it are going to let you down.
Indoor Never Looked Better – Member iPosi Featured
RNT Foundation member iPosi (the "Pos" is pronounced as in "position" so - "eye-pos-ee") was the main focus of an "GPS World" article about how far indoor positioning has come. Congratulations to CEO Rich Lee and his team for their successes and for getting this great...
GPS Terrestrial Complement/Backup Bill Gathering Support
The Congress is back in session this week and HR 1678, a bill that would require establishment of a strong, difficult-to-disrupt terrestrial system to complemment GPS, and to serve as another source of PNT when GPS isn't available, has been referred to the Committee...
SPAWAR wants white papers: Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (APNT)
New FedBizOps Posting: The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), in support of the Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (PEO C4I) Communications Program Office (PMW/A 170), and Program Executive Office...
Drones, Wither Goest?
If something is really important you need more than one. You don’t need to have a degree in safety or systems engineering to know that. A Washington Post report last year showed that large autonomous aircraft are particularly vulnerable to GNSS as a single point of failure.
Google’s Cerf & DOD’s Halvorsen – Different, but Complementary, Views on APNT
Vint Cerf and Terry Halvorsen offered interesting and different, yet complementary, observations on the importance of assured PNT at last night’s RNT Foundation dinner. The event at the Metropolitan Club, hosted by former FAA Administrator Langhorne Bond, was attended by a broad cross section of members from industry, government and academia.
From Harriman’s A4 to Future Nav
While the cherry blossoms are only just beginning to make themselves known, tomorrow (Wednesday the 8th of April) is still going to be a great day to visit Washington, DC for members of the PNT community.
New GPS/eLoran Bill in Congress
Yesterday, a bi-partisan group of legislators led by Congressman John Garamendi (D, CA) introduced a bill that would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a backup for the Global Positioning System (GPS). Called the “National Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2015,” it was co-sponsored by Congressmen Duncan Hunter (R, CA), Peter DeFazio (D, OR), and Frank LoBiondo (R, NJ).
Vint Cerf, Terry Halvorsen, New FRN Add Spice to RNT Annual Dinner
This week’s Federal Register Notice (FRN) that the government is considering eLoran to complement and backup GPS, and asking for public comment, is sure to add a lot of interest to the RNT Foundation’s annual dinner meeting. The FRN and a recent RFI for 50,000 eLoran...
“Do We Want Faster Horses?”
Henry Ford is reputed to have once remarked “If I had asked people what they wanted they would have said “faster horses.” The federal government might be facing a similar challenge with the Federal Register Notice it published this week about Complementary Positioning, Navigation and Timing. In it they asked for public comment about whether establish eLoran in the US would be useful and if it would be used.
US Announces it is Considering eLoran – Wants Public Comment
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Dennis Cantrell While there were a few coding problems the first time the Government Printing Office (GPO) posted it on line, the Abstract portion of the Federal Register Notice that our web crawler discovered...
European Navigation Conference 2015
The 2015 ENC conference will be hosted by the Institut Français de Navigation (IFN) and TOPOS Aquitaine and will be held April 7 through 10 at Centre de Congrès Cité mondiale in Bordeaux, France. It will be a showcase for state-of-the-art technology and for...
US Losing Internet Lead?
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publicized a report yesterday that outlined how further development of the internet, specifically the “Internet of Things,” will be hampered by the lack of an effective time signal. Interestingly, this “lack of effective time” could be a problem for the US, and for many third world countries, but not for Russia, China, Europe and others.
DHS Helps Protect GPS
Great progress by DHS in helping to protect critical infrastructure was reported this week by “Inside GNSS.” Led by DHS Science and Technology Program Manager Sarah Mahmood, DHS and NIST have developed and published a ten page guide of “Best Practices for Improved Robustness of Time and Frequency Sources in Fixed Locations.”
21 Ways to Disrupt
We have always been a fan of the interesting, methodical and technically astute ways Dr. Sally Basker (PhD, BEng, FRIN) has of looking at and explaining things. In one of her recent efforts she outlined 21 different types of GNSS disruptions.
Meet DOD CIO Terry Halvorsen and Google’s Vint Cerf, Internet Pioneer
Tech Industry Leaders Highlight Critical Need For Resilient Timing and Navigation Systems [featured title="Contact" header_color="004c89" ] Jen Hitchcock Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation Phone: 703-489-7024 Website: RNTFnd.org [/featured] Washington,...
The Real Star Wars: Air Force Heads to the Heavens for Weapons Guidance
Mark Thompson, Time Magazine, March 8, 2015 If a foe disables or destroys GPS, Pentagon still needs to drop bombs accurately The success of precision-guided bombs in 1991’s Gulf War was a revelation. The world watched transfixed as U.S. generals briefed before screens...
Caring For PNT
This month “Coordinates” magazine published an RNT Foundation paper presented at the 2014 European Navigation Conference in Rotterdam. The paper discusses ways that nations and companies must think about and care for the PNT systems that are so important to their...
GNSS Vulnerability Scores at Wide-Ranging INC 2015
Almost half of the sessions at the International Navigation Conference (INC) 2015 held this week (February 24–26) in Manchester, England, were devoted to the theme of resilience and vulnerability, a topic that Dana Goward of the Resilient Navigation and Timing...
DARPA – “GPS Use by Military a Vulnerability”
The Strategic Technology Office at the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has six focus areas it is currently working on – one of which is Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT).
US DOD “Triples Down” on Assured PNT
Russian Military Jamming Vehicle, Belspetsvneshtechnika Photo An alert RNT Foundation member recently noticed that the US Department of Defense is requesting three times the funds for “Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)” research and testing for next...
GPS Interference: Origins, Effects & Mitigations Webinar
Logan Scott is a Fellow of the Institute of Navigation and a well-recognized authority on these issues. This webinar is well worth your time. GPS Interference: Origins, Effects & Mitigations WebinarNow Available On-Demand If you missed the live event with...
GPS/GNSS: First, Admit You Have A Problem – Investigative TV News Starting to Help
The first step in Alcoholics Anonymous' famous 12 Step recovery program is "Admit you have a problem." Technologists not only admit the problem of GPS/GNSS vulnerability and the lack of an alternative for North America, they have been talking about it for years. They...
GPS Disruption Halts Ports, Endangers Ships – US Coast Guard
Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection At a public meeting last month, US Coast Guard officials described how interference with GPS signals disrupted operations for seven hours at a major east coast port last year. You can watch the entire meeting below, the...
PTA for GNSS
Last week the “Father of GPS,” Dr. Brad Parkinson, renewed his call for PTA when it came to global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). When we hear “PTA” in the US, most of us have flashbacks to grade school and think “Parent-Teacher Association.” But what Dr....
Resilient PNT Forum II – Presentations
The second Resilient PNT Forum was held on Monday the 26 of January as a parallel evening event to the Institute of Navigation's International Technical Meeting a Dana Point. After drinks and hors d' oeuvres, approximately 120 attendees were welcomed by hosts Martin...
Korea eLoran At RPNT Forum II
A very good "Inside GNSS" article about Korea's announcement at Resilient PNT Forum II of a re-invigorated project after a number of contracting delays. [big_button url="https://insidegnss.com/south-korea-relaunches-its-eloran-program/"]Read More[/big_button]
US Government Tiger Team Report – “GPS Complements”
A rare glimpse into the thoughts and processes of the federal inter-agency in the arcane field of Position, Navigation and Timing, especially regarding GPS alternatives, was provided at the Stanford University PNT Symposium in October. An FAA presentation revealed the existence of a “Complementary PNT Tiger Team (CPNT3).” We learned…
GPS Interference – A Cyber Problem
The most recent edition of the U.S. Coast Guard’s journal of safety and security at sea, “Proceedings” included interference with GPS as one of the cyber-vulnerabilities mariners needed to be concerned about.
US Army – How much for 50,000 eLoran Receivers?
The US Army released a “Request for Information” yesterday seeking industry’s input on the cost to acquire up to 50,000 eLoran receivers. The Department of Defense is interested in taking advantage of “signals of opportunity.” Among the issues the Army is seeking input on for current eLoran receivers are…
Sun More Dangerous Than North Korea
NOAA posted another severe space warning last week indicating that satellite navigation system operation could be compromised. Such alerts are not uncommon, especially recently as the sun seems to have recently been at a “solar maximum” and may spike violently again before the cycle is through.
GPS is an Attractive Nuisance
One of the many interesting exchanges at the US National Position, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board in December was Professor Per Enge’s response to a question about how having a high power, difficult-to-disrupt, terrestrial eLoran system that provided GPS-like services, would benefit the space-based Global Positioning System (GPS).
It’s in Law – Preserve Loran, Backup GPS
Sometimes seemingly minor provisions in obscure laws have huge impacts. Last week the President signed into law “The Howard Coble Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2014.” While the name might not immediately pique the interest of people interested in protecting GPS services and ensuring a GPS backup, that is exactly what one Section 229 of the act did.
Financial Networks Shifting to GPS-Stamped Precise Time
Inside GNSS, Dee Ann Divis 31 Dec 2014 New competitive demands and regulatory requirements are driving financial firms around the world to use highly precise timestamps on incoming information and transactions, a trend likely to push firms to adopt a common time...
“I hate GPS” – Secretary of Defense Nominee Ashton Carter
“I hate GPS,” President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, told a reporter just a few weeks ago. What became quickly clear, though, was that he doesn’t “hate GPS” per se. What he hates is that it doesn’t work everywhere and that so many things, both military and civilian, just don’t work without it.
Navigation Part of Cybersecurity – “USCG Proceedings”
The most recent edition of US Coast Guard's journal of safety and security at sea, "Proceedings," is all about Cybersecurity. It contains several articles that identify GPS jamming and spoofing as cyber threats. [big_button url="http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/"]Read...
EU Project ACCSEAS Outpaced by Market Player – Dutch Pilots’ eDLoran
Navigator NL Issue 13 December 2014 - Page 21 "Dutch Pilot's eDLoran System has been ready for use since the beginning of 2014" This interesting article discusses the ponderous efforts of the EU to identify a GNSS alternative and compares it with the relatively nimble...
New, More Powerful Jammers Block GPS and Galileo
The inventor of GPS is calling for a more robust system as evidence is released of new, more powerful jamming devices being used by criminal gangs. [big_button url="http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2014/feb/gps-jamming.cfm"]Read More[/big_button]
PRESS RELEASE: US Congress and Administration Want PNT Resilience – eLoran Highlighted
[featured title="Contact" header_color="004c89" ] Dana Goward RNT Foundation Phone: 888-354-9109 Email: [email protected] Address: 4558 Shetland Green Road Alexandria, Virginia 22312 Website: RNTFnd.org [/featured] Alexandria, VA (December 10, 2014) – Today the US...
“Z” (vertical) Component of Precise Positioning No Longer a Challenge
Mini barometric sensors are adding a vertical component to locations for cell phones and other devices. Article from the Washington Post: [big_button url="http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/business/a-new-dimension-in-cellphone-tracking/1466//"]Read...
Toward a Unified PNT, Part 2
GPS World, October 31, 2014 By Paul D. Groves, Lei Wang, Debbie Walter, and Ziyi Jiang, University College London The coming requirements of greater accuracy and reliability in a range of challenging environments for a multitude of mission-critical applications...
United Kingdom Announces IOC for eLoran
The UK has been upgrading its Loran to eLoran for several years and today they announced Initial Operating Capability. Note that while the press reports linked below mention South Korea developing an eLoran system (announcement of a contract to build the first phase...
Under Congressional Pressure, U.S. Agencies Maneuver on eLoran Relaunch, GPS Backup – from “Inside GNSS”
Inside GNSS 30 October 2014 By Dee Ann Divis Prodded by Congress, the federal government is reexamining its decision to abandon eLoran, a network of ground stations capable of supplying essential timing and positioning data to power, phone, and other critical networks...
Blog
Toffler, VA Tech Prof on Greater PNT Resilience in the US
Image: PNT System of Systems Approach - RNT Foundation What's New: A paper published by Toffler Associates s and written by retired RADM Dave Simpson, USN, now a professor at Virginia Tech calling for resilient PNT. Full title: A DAY WITHOUT SPACE AND A CALL FOR...
Struggling to move GPS forward: Problems with M-Code, OCX, R-GPS
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...
Asia oil tanker crash – GPS spoofing contributes to bad things happening (see?)
Image: Singapore Maritime Law Enforcement Agency What's New: Ships collide in the dark when one is spoofing its GPS position. An example of the bad things that can happen during spoofing. Why It's Important: Spoofing makes all operations less safe. And it happens so...
70% of Flight Crews: ‘Safety Concern Very High or Extreme’ – GPS Spoofing Final Report fm OPSGROUP
Image: Shutterstock What's New: The final report from OPSGROUP's GPS Spoofing Work Group. A tech guide and a crew guide were released earlier. It is an excellent 128 page, easy to browse or read document. Why It's Important: It reflects the unvarnished views of flight...