About
GPSIA Statement on
PNT Advisory Board Chair Memo on Resilient PNT
August 15, 2024
Washington, DC
The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) appreciates the suggestions made by Admiral Allen, the Chair of the National Space-based PNT Advisory Board about how U.S. positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities can be improved. Admiral Allen is right that GPS has not been accorded its rightful prominence in the national policy agenda. BeiDou, China’s version of GPS, is cited as a key program in China’s Five Year Plan. GPS should enjoy equal prominence in the United States to reflect its importance to national security, critical infrastructure, public safety, and economic security.
While GPSIA supports the further evaluation and development of additional complementary PNT systems, the country’s first priority must be to modernize the existing GPS constellation on which the Nation relies. Today’s GPS constellation includes six, satellites that were built with 1980’s-era technology and seven additional satellites built with 1990’s-era technology. Their longevity is a testament to the engineers and builders of the satellites, but today’s threats demand modern satellites with new, more resistant satellite signals – including the not yet fully available L5 signal - for military, civil, public safety, air transportation, critical infrastructure, and commercial users.
Modernizing the constellation will increase its resiliency against today’s threats, including from jamming and spoofing and “near-peer” competitors. So, too, will completing essential ground station upgrades. GPS is a reliable and effective system today and improving it will help further secure our nation’s national and economic security. Four modernized GPS III satellites await launch. The Department of Defense must prioritize these satellites on the national security space launch manifest.
Government investment today in GPS IIIF, the next generation GPS system, will also ensure the U.S. industrial base remains strong and resilient. The ability to purchase long-lead time components and offer steady employment to highly skilled experts in PNT satellite technologies will position the U.S. to remain the world’s leader in these technologies.
In addition to modernizing the GPS constellation, the U.S. government must continue to protect the investment that taxpayers made in the current and future GPS constellation by ensuring that satellites operate in an interference-free environment. And while there is understandable pressure to identify additional radiofrequency spectrum for new applications, doing so cannot come at the expense of GPS.
As we look to the future, GPSIA is excited about the possibilities that additional U.S. government and commercial PNT systems will bring to people across the globe who depend on these systems every day.