The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has highlighted the importance of a strong PNT for national security and security. It has opened the door to chat about the vulnerability of GPS signals that could cost millions of people, if data were obtained from an enemy organization. In February 2022, just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a GPS disruption was detected on the Ukraine-Belarus border. After analyzing GPS signals around Ukraine for more than four months in March, HawkEye 360 called it a “combination of electric military tactics in Russia’s military operations to improve Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.”
Not just the HawkEye 360, the Center for Advanced Defense Studies has reported that GPS spoofing has been in Russia since 2019. The non-profit C4ADS also recorded 10,000 different GPS spoofing incidents by Russia. This means that with the advancement of technology, the reliance on critical national infrastructure on Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) signals has only grown over time. These PNT signals are detected from a GPS network tied to the space and are at risk of burglary, robbery, and fraud.
HawkEye 360 chief John Serafini told Geospatial World, “This explicitly exposes the tactics used by the Russian military to undermine the efficiency of space-based missiles, such as the United States Global Positioning System. GPS jamming is one of the areas in which we see evidence through our signal-glare and processing power. ”In addition, a 2019 report sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology estimated that the loss of GPS would cost the US $ 1 billion a day.
Increasing the risk
As per the US space-based PNT policy, the widespread reliance and growing growth in GPS through military, civilian, and commercial systems, system and infrastructure puts the performance of many of these systems at risk in the event of disruption or exploitation of GPS signals. GPS users should anticipate potential signal loss, and take steps to confirm, or verify the authenticity of the received GPS data, as well as various signals, especially in operating systems where even minor failures can result in fatal loss.
Expressing his concerns at the second annual Assured PNT Summit, Dana A. Goward, President, Resilient Navigation & Timing Foundation; Proprietor Maritime Governance, LLC, has revealed that China has comprehensive PNT infrastructure including GEO, MEO, and LEO satellites, wider and more precise fiber networks capable of transmitting more precise timing, planning to deploy infrastructure. 5G for PNT, and nationwide. The eLoran network has been specially used to protect the nation from the disruption of space-based signals.
Although, the structure of Russia, though much smaller than that of China, includes a program like Loran that works for the most developed parts of the nation. Also, because the doctrine of its armed forces assumes that signals from space will be rejected during any major war, the Russian armed forces appear to have a moving PNT global program of emergency operations.“So where does this leave the United States? Apparently in PNT we are leading, in third place. Internally and militarily, PNT, a basic piece of technological infrastructure, is at risk. And unlike our arch-rivals, we have no widespread backsliding if GPS / GNSS is rejected, ”he said.
Other PNT sources
UK and US policymakers are looking to use cost-effective PNT resources, which can ensure that operating procedures work even in the face of GPS / GNSS disruptions. Other solid PNT sources from ground-based GPS, can include advanced antenna technology and investment in multi-constellation, GNSS receivers for multiple frequencies. Alternative or compatible PNT resources may be possible if advanced technology is integrated with existing systems and in view of options where grounded PNT services can be used as a backup for space-based PNT services.
As the U.S. government begins to recognize the potential threat to national security and the global economy, in Executive Order 13095, it has put down the first policy mark and rated strong PNT services such as national security concerns. Government agencies were asked to devise careful strategies to “ensure that critical infrastructure could withstand the disruption or exploitation of PNT services.
The DHS report on other PNT sources states that “there is no single technology that can calculate the various ways in which PNT resources deal with it”, which is why many technologies will need to work in unison to work both as an add-on. and GPS compatibility.Some of the outstanding examples of other PNT resources are global PNT systems, advanced long-distance navigation (eLORAN), geo-triangulation using low power network networks (LPWAN) or other IoT gadgets, which can provide location data as a separate source. As the use of GNSS capabilities has increased in recent years, countries need to be rehabilitated with some backups of PNT in the event of a crisis.
For more read: https://www.geospatialworld.net/prime/technology-and-innovation/why-pnt-is-vital-for-national-security/
