Chronos Technology
General Lighthouse Authorities Applaud US eLoran Decision
22nd February 2008 - The General Lighthouse Authorities of the United Kingdom and Ireland (GLAs) today applaud the US decision to implement Enhanced Loran (eLoran) in the US as a complement to the Global Positioning System (GPS), particularly in the event of an outage or disruption in service.
Robust, reliable and high-performance positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) is the lifeblood of modern society’s critical infrastructure: power systems, telecommunications, transport and finance. GPS has revolutionised PNT but it has known vulnerabilities. Galileo will have a positive impact on GPS system-level vulnerability although all satellite navigation systems share common vulnerabilities at signal and user levels.
eLoran is a terrestrial radionavigation system, one that is fully independent of GPS and delivers complementary levels of performance. It allows GPS users to retain the safety, security and economic benefits of GPS even when their satellite services are disrupted.
The US decision establishes eLoran’s role as a key component of the future US PNT mix: the world’s premier satellite navigation service provider knows its own vulnerabilities, has done extensive analysis and has settled on eLoran as the solution.
Other satellite navigation service providers have a similar PNT mix: the Russian Federation operates its Glonass satellite navigation system and its version of eLoran, Chayka; and the People’s Republic of China is developing its Compass satellite navigation system and has deployed Loran in the Far East. Now Europe needs a similar eLoran back up to complement its eagerly awaited Galileo system.
As responsible and prudent service providers, the GLAs have long identified the need for eLoran to mitigate satellite navigation vulnerabilities. This is why the GLAs have deployed their new eLoran station in Cumbria. Together with stations in Norway, France, Germany and the Faeroe Islands, we are now providing a trial eLoran service in Northern Europe.
In determining its long-term PNT mix Europe needs a mature and rational debate about GNSS vulnerability that recognises both the benefits of having two satellite navigation systems, Galileo and GPS, as well as the benefits of system diversity based on eLoran. Now is the time for governments, service providers and users to demand a European Radio Navigation Plan based on Galileo, GPS and eLoran. Only in this way can we establish a robust, reliable and high-performance PNT mix in Europe that will protect our critical infrastructure and allow our European users to retain the safety, security and economic benefits of GPS that they enjoy, even when their satellite services are disrupted.