107 West Federal Street, Suite 4 Middleburg, VA 20117
107 West Federal Street, Suite 4 Middleburg, VA 20117

Resources

Government Reports On GPS/GNSS Vulnerability, Backup and eLORAN

Since 2001 US federal agencies and Presidential Directives have warned of our dependence on GPS/GNSS and the lack of a backup, recommending eLORAN as the solution. In addition, these agencies call for eLORAN to be implemented now as the threat is increasing. These agencies include: US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US Department of Defense (DOD), US Department of Transportation (DOT), US Department of Commerce (DOC), US Department of Labor (DOL), US Department of State (DOS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Department of Interior (DOI).  Agency reports endorsing eLORAN are provided below.

Jan. 2020

(DOT) DOT DEPT.ASST.SEC. DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH SPEECH TO EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ON NEED TO GROUND BASED GPS BACKUP AND MOVING FORWARD : Outlines need for a national GPS backup system as per the National Timing Security and Resilience Law and that the system architecture must be ground based, wide area and difficult to disrupt.

Dec. 2018

(CONGRESS & WHITE HOUSE) NATIONAL TIMING SECURITY AND RESILIENCE ACT OF 2018 BECOMES LAW US Law now directs the establishment of a land based, wireless, wide area and difficult to disrupt timing through a Public Private Partnership with the private sector for not less than a 20 year period.

Sept. 2018

(DOD, DOT, DOC, DOL, DOS and USDA) NATIONAL SPACE-BASED POSITIONING, NAVIGATION, AND TIMING ADVISORY BOARD Eighteenth Meeting: PNT Advisory Board for the 4th time in 8 years re-affirms its recommendation for E-LORAN as timing backup for GPS.

Feb. 2017

(DHS) DHS ISSUES RFI FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR PNT IN A DEGRADED GPS ENVIRONMENT : DHS seeks broad industry input on alternative technologies that can serve as a backup to GPS if it is ever degraded or disrupted.

Dec. 2016

(DOD, DOT, DOC, DOL, DOS and USDA) NATIONAL SPACE-BASED POSITIONING, NAVIGATION, AND TIMING ADVISORY BOARD Eighteenth Meeting: PNT Advisory Board re-affirms its recommendation for ELORAN as backup for GPS.

Nov. 2016 (DOT)

PNT Services for National Critical Infrastructure Resiliency: DOT issues RFI for information on backup system for GPS.

Aug. 2016

(DOT, DOC, NOAA) GPS Dependencies in the Transportation, Best Practices for Improved Robustness of GPS Devices, and Potential Alternative Solutions for Positioning, Navigation and Timing: DOT study on transportation sector vulnerability to GPS disruption and assessment of backup solutions – eLoran rates as best of all assessed.

June 2016

(DHS and DOT) Homeland Security, PNT ExCom Move on Backing Up GPS : “The ExCom came out in December in favor of a two-step process in which enhanced Loran (E-LORAN) would be developed as a near-term alternative to GPS.”

Apr 2016

(DHS) DHS S&T Demonstrates Precision Timing Technology at the New York Stock Exchange: DHS demonstrates E-Loran as successful backup for precise and synchronized timing of financial transactions which are critical to financial and banking sectors worldwide.

Dec 2015:

(DOD and DOT) Letter to Congress on implementing E-LORAN in a phased manner now: We will “pursue potential near-term opportunities to leverage public and private sector capabilities and resources to support a timing-focused E-LORAN network”, and “sufficient data exists from previous studies to produce initial cost estimates and basic system specification to determine the appropriate scope of the effort.”

Feb 2015-17:

(DHS) DHS eLoran CRADA in place w/Harris Corp and Ursanav Four years of ELORAN testing has proven E-LORAN’s capabilities with DHS and the US Coast Guard as sponsors.

Mar 2015

(DOT) DOT Request for Comment: Complementary Positioning, Navigation and Timing Capabilities: DOT planning on implementing E-Loran as a backup to GPS.

June 2015:

(DOD, DOT, DOC, DOL, DOS and USDA) PNT* Advisory Board continues support for E-LORAN backup system: “…the board believes Enhanced Loran (ELORAN) is needed as backup to GPS.”

Jan 2015:

(DOD) Army RFI: How much for 50,000 eLoran receivers?: “Army is interested in leveraging the recent technology development efforts in the industry mainly for adding E-LORAN capabilities into Army APNT solutions”.

Dec 2014:

(DOD, DOT, DOC, DOL, DOS and USDA) PNT Excom Tiger Team**: Comprehensive study on all technology options– E-LORAN best solution.

June 2014:

(DOD, DOT, DOC, DOL, DOS and USDA) NATIONAL SPACE-BASED POSITIONING, NAVIGATION, AND TIMING ADVISORY BOARD Thirteenth Meeting: PNT Advisory Board re-affirmed support for eLoran as GPS backup. “…(E-LORAN) would be a standing recommendation.” Nov 2011: (DHS) DHS National Risk Estimate: GPS is a single point of failure for our critical national infrastructures necessitating the urgent need for a backup.

Nov 2010:

(DOD, DOT, DOC, DOL, DOS, DOI and USDA) National PNT Advisory Board comments on Jamming the Global Positioning System -A National Security Threat: Recent Events and Potential Cures. Need backup and rapid implementation of ELORAN. “We strongly recommend that the previously announced decision (to deploy E-LORAN as the primary Alternate PNT) should be reconfirmed and quickly implemented.”

Feb 2009:

Obama Administration confirms the 2004 NSPD 39 is still US Policy

Feb 2008:

(DHS) Statement from DHS Press Secretary Laura Keehhner on the adoption of National Backup System to GPS: We will build E-LORAN. “US Department of Homeland Security will begin implementing an independent national positioning, navigation and timing system that complements the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the event of an outage or disruption in service. The enhanced Loran, or eLoran, system will be a land-based, independent system and will mitigate any safety, security, or economic effects of a GPS outage or disruption.”

Dec 2006:

(DOT) IDA Independent Assessment Team (IAT) Summary of Initial Findings on eLoran: “IAT unanimously found and recommended to the sponsor and co-sponsor on 13 December 2006 that E-LORAN be completed and retained as the national backup system” and “IAT unanimously recommends that the US Government complete the E-LORAN upgrade and commit to E-LORAN as the national backup to GPS for 20 years.”

Dec 2004:

NSPD-39: US Space-Based Position, Navigation, and Timing Policy: DOT work with DHS to acquire GPS backup capability.

Dec 2001:

(DOT) DOT Vulnerability Assessment of GPS: Backup needed, LORAN is a viable option.