Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced recently that the U.S. Department of Transportation will implement a plan to maintain the adequacy of backup systems for each area of operation where Global Positioning System (GPS) is “critical to transportation issues.” An earlier study prepared by the DOT’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center found that the system was vulnerable to disruption from atmospheric effects, signal blockage from buildings, interference from communications equipment. as well as intentional disruption. Mineta announced a number of initiatives to address the vulnerabilities found by the report. The DOT will develop a more complete partnership with the Department of Defense that will work to modernize GPS and implement new civil signals, consequently, both departments will work to establish antijamming for civil use. Performance standards will be developed for receiver units, and user education will warn of the technology’s specific vulnerabilities. Finally, an assessment will be performed to determine a cost-effective mix of radio navigation systems for the next 10 years and beyond including evaluation of the long-term need for the continuation of Loran-C.
Source: AVweb NewsWire
