Pentagon has little to show for two decades of GPS modernization work

Despite more than two decades of work, the US military's GPS modernization efforts are still so muddled that uninterrupted operation of a secure network of GPS satellites could be at risk.  The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report yesterday filled with phrases like "multiple delays" and "significant …

[STOP_FORTH]

Novel solution

Sextant, decent watch, sorted.

[Sam not the Viking]

Re: Novel solution

Yes...... Depending upon your mode of transport and how quickly you calculate the solution.

At Mach 2 you are already more than 650 metres from your measurement position, per second.

[STOP_FORTH]

Re: Novel solution

If you were a viking that would be good enough!

[DS999]

Let me guess

The contracts being let for this were cost plus? That's pretty much always guaranteed to result in delays, because the longer you can drag it out the more profit you make!

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Let me guess

1, new space force project unit

2, new logo for space force project unit

3, new camo pattern for space force rocket scientist uniform

4, establish separate school of military music for space force

[Chairman of the Bored]

Re: Let me guess

Very close!

I would add "golf course" as #1 - these boys are former USAF after all.

And they need their own service academy. Only then can we truly have Space Cadets. Not sure where that goes in the priority stack.

[disgruntled yank]

venerable

The US Space Force has not reached its fifth birthday. Even the Department of Homeland Security has quite a few years on it.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: venerable

They should probably have recruited some of the USAF chappies that previously boffin-ed GPS

[IGotOut]

Good job...

...there isn't a live war going on highlighting all the issues with the current GPS system, otherwise the enemy could be using those same flaws.

[Alan Brown]

Re: Good job...

That war that isn't going on has had me wondering how effective HARMs really are. Homing in on a 1kW+ transmitter a few km away should be child's play

[Bebu]

I can see part of the problem ;)

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Positioning, Navigation and Timing Program Office.

If the unit's name is a short story in itself...

I was wondering what M-Code was and followed the article's M-Code link to a .mil site which had the unit's name in the first para. As for M-Code still none the wiser.

Perhaps should buy shares in a single chip inertial navigation system based on nanomachine gyroscopes?

[Jon 37]

Re: I can see part of the problem ;)

Due to the way GPS works, it gives you your position, course, speed, and the current time. So "Positioning, Navigation and Timing" in the name of the office basically means GPS. So the whole office name translated from bureaucratese to English is "the GPS management".

As for the various "Codes", GPS satellites transmit different signals, called "Codes". Newer ones will work better. Whether that is more accurate, more resistant to jamming/spoofing, or whatever. Some Codes are encrypted so are only for use by the US military. So I guess this is a better signal for use by the US military. The satellites will still transmit the old codes too.

[Dante Alighieri]

Re: I can see part of the problem ;)

Hmmm. GPS satellite gives you a time. the rest is in the client unit. Precision and encryption on top perhaps (decoders). The rest is all calculated on the ground in your device.

[Luiz Abdala]

Meanwhile, Starlink provides civilian GPS.

Guess what, you can have a gps signal and download the updated map to read it at the same time.

But hey, military-grade GPS can't be public access, right?

Security <> Convenience after all.

[Irongut]

Re: Meanwhile, Starlink provides civilian GPS.

I think the US military probably want something that isn't so easy for the Russians to hack.

[rg287]

Re: Meanwhile, Starlink provides civilian GPS.

Meanwhile, Starlink provides civilian GPS.

It doesn't. StarLink's signal was reverse-engineered by a researcher who was able to get a sort-of timing signal out for positioning within about 10metres. Which isn't necessarily enough for satnav if you want to know if you're on a highway or a parallel residential road.

And it only works if StarLink is sending data to a receiver fairly close to you (because they don't broadcast permanently like GPS satellites).

And it has no resistance whatsoever to spoofing or jamming.