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As GPS becomes questionable, backups in commo and nav afoot

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Quartermaster 1st Class John Lenson, assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82), peers through a marine sextant, a navigational instrument used to determine celestial navigation. Lassen is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of responsibility supporting law enforcement operations as part of Operation Martillo. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Huey D. Younger Jr./Released)

There are a lot of interesting things going on when it comes to GPS systems and their use.

The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is operated and maintained by the U.S. Air Force and is a series of 24 satellites in orbit‎ that helps find things down to about 5m. Set up in the late 1970s, China (BNSS), India (NAVIC), the EU (Galileo), Russia (GLONASS) and Japan (Zenith) have likewise set up their own systems to assist their own needs.

Long the gold standard for land and sea nav, GPS has replaced Loran and Omega systems as well as in many cases traditional celestial navigation and good old compass/map based land nav as well. I mean why not, you can buy a GPS system for sub-$100 these days.

From an article in Maritime Executive, MARAD found about ships operating in and around the Black Sea have observed cases of GPS spoofing. These included cases of lost signals and “For few days, GPS gave a position inland (near Gelendyhik aiport) but vessel was actually drifting more than 25 NM from it.”

Some 20 vessels reported problems. Last year, the Norks jammed GPS in the DMZ.

This comes as the Navy has returned celestial navigation (CELNAV) courses to the Naval Academy’s curriculum (NROTC dropped it in 2000, USNA in 2006).

Further, an improved radio-nav system known as eLoran is making in-roads in navigational support with the Coast Guard being the proposed recipient of $200 million in funding to help muscle it up.

Meanwhile, the Navy, in particular Guam-based CTF-75, has been testing HF systems in the case of satellite communication failure, recently sending broadcast voice and data 6,050 miles from Naval Base Guam to Port Hueneme on the West Coast via radio.

It seems like everything old is new again.

I’m just waiting on the seaplanes and battleships to come back.

With that, let’s roll this 1971 CELNAV training film for those who want some naptime.


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

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