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Writer's pictureDavid Mitlyng

Weekly Takeaways-July12,2024

Updated: Oct 3

Theme of the Week

A More Gradual Independence Day Last week, America celebrated the 248th anniversary of a Dear John letter to the world's reigning Empire. But the consequence of that very public Declaration of Independence is well known: a bloody struggle followed by the challenges of creating a new country. The lesson from this, and other revolutions, is a lesson that many a college student has learned: it is easier to claim independence while still getting support from home. This is also the philosophy adopted by a wave of countries seeking to break free from America's Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS is the gold standard for many reasons: it was the world's first global navigation satellite system (GNSS), it is well designed and well-maintained (to the tune of $5M a day), and, most importantly, it is freely available. Because of this it has become a critical foundation for our modern life and an engine for economic growth, spawning $2T in economic benefit, 6 billion receivers, and 800 companies. So, why bother building a competing GNSS when the service is free?Because dependence comes at a cost (see below). It is well known that GPS' widespread availability and weak signal make it easy to disrupt, which has spurred new GNSS developments in Europe (Galileo), China (BeiDou), Russia (GLONASS), Japan (QZSS), India (IRNSS), UK, Korea (KASS), and Africa (ANGA), as well as commercial solutions. Independence from GPS is coming, and no declaration is required.


 

Industry News

 

  • Wall Street Journal article claimed that Russia "is learning how to defeat Western precision munitions in Ukraine," noting that even though GPS-guided munitions worked early in the conflict, "the Russian army started to adapt, using its formidable electronic warfare capabilities" until they "became essentially useless and are no longer employed."

  • Another report claims that, out of over 500 UK Royal Air Force (RAF) flights in the first three months of 2024, 142 RAF were subject to GPS jamming and "of those, 60 saw repeated jamming attempts – equating to one in eight flights." Some claim that this jamming is caused by Russia "which is believed to have established two powerful electronic warfare centers in Syria and Kaliningrad."

  • US State Department officials issued a warning to communication companies, including Google and Meta, that their trans-Pacific fiber cables "could be vulnerable to tampering by Chinese repair ships."

  • The US Department of Energy (DoE) unveiled an Office of Critical and Emerging Technology to maintain “U.S. leadership in critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, quantum, and microelectronics are key to enabling economic prosperity and our national security.”


Conferences


The More You Know...

For nearly three decades, GPS has been a critical resource for the world's commercial infrastructure. But the original, and primary, user remains the US military. And other countries recognize that they have access to an off switch.Russia was the first to develop their sovereign GNSS, GLONASS, at the height of the Cold War. Europe was pushed to develop Galileo "that the US could not easily turn off in times of political conflict. "India’s GNSS development was triggered by “US denial of GPS during the Kargil Conflict in 1999. ”China recalled their “Unforgettable Humiliation” as an incentive to build to BeiDou. Only operational since 2020, the BeiDou constellation is now the world’s largest GNSS, is more accurate than GPS, and has demonstrated optical links and Global Short Message Communication and Search-and-Rescue Services. Some US officials believe that GPS is “now substantially inferior" to BeiDou, and while China continues to invest "heavily in their GNSS systems" the US "is only making modest improvements to GPS. "But the larger concern isn't just the technical advancements, but that China is flipping the script and using BeiDou as “a soft power tool."

 

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