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U.S. Nears Eloran Decision with Broad International

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U.S. Nears Eloran Decision with Broad International WASHINGTON VIEW he U.S. government appears down their eLoran infrastructure while to be closing in on a deci- other, less-friendly nations — including sion about whether to revive Russia — are moving to upgrade their plans for an enhanced Loran eLoran-type systems. T(eLoran) system, as a backup for the Although the outcome of the U.S. position, navigation, and timing (PNT) deliberations on a national system information provided by GPS signals. would appear to be a separate issue A study launched by the interagency from overseas eLoran developments, group coordinating GPS-related policy the two are actually closely linked, has been weighing options since last experts insist. If the United States fails fall after two members of Congress sent to go ahead with its own eLoran, they pointed letters asking about the lack of said, other nations will drop their trans- mitters — including NATO countries whose systems could be important in ongoing areas of conflict. GNSS VULNERABILITY DRIVES PROPOSAL “Whether countries like it or not, the U.S. is kind of the de facto PNT leader, even if we don’t have an eLoran system U.S. Nears eLoran Decision with up,” asserted UrsaNav president and CEO Chuck Schue. “There is no doubt Broad International Implications in the global community that if the U.S. moves forward with eLoran, other folks will as well. There’s no doubt about that. DEE ANN DIVIS progress on establishing a GPS backup If the U.S. does not move forward with (details at <http://www.insidegnss. eLoran; will that stop some countries? com/node/4263>). Although what the Yeah, it probably will.” group’s recommendation will be remains unknown, experts following the discus- Why eLoran? sions tell Inside GNSS that eLoran has The proposal for eLoran in the U.S. emerged, as broadly expected, as the best would update old Loran C sites, which choice and would most likely be run by a are still owned by the federal govern- public-private partnership (PPP). ment, to broadcast a powerful, ground- Although the PPP idea has been based signal that uses a completely dif- on the table for years, a new player has ferent frequency from GPS. Both systems emerged and is already exploring run- are synchronized with Coordinated Uni- ning an eLoran service, sources con- versal Time (UTC); however, eLoran’s firmed. The government is actively craft- synchronization is handled through dif- ing a cooperative agreement to enable ferent channels, thus eliminating a com- this unnamed company and perhaps mon point of failure between the two. others, if they should step forward, to Although eLoran does not provide demonstrate the system to prospective a vertical dimension to its positioning, customers. it can provide 2-D (horizontal) capa- The process is playing out within bilities with a demonstrated accuracy Dee Ann Divis has covered the context of escalating threats to PNT using differential corrections of around GNSS and the aerospace signals and concerns over cybersecurity seven meters while providing a seamless industry since the early plus a rapidly changing international backup for precise timing. As designed, 1990s, writing for Jane’s environment. GPS jamming by North the enhanced Loran system is also far International Defense Korea had already raised interest in less labor-intensive to maintain and can Review, the Los Angeles Times, AeroSpace Daily and eLoran system within the Pentagon, broadcast a data channel that has the other publications. She was the science and technology which launched a search in January for potential to deliver emergency messages editor at United Press International for five years, leaving for a year to attend the Massachusetts Institute companies able to supply some 50,000 and provide signal authentication. of Technology as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. eLoran receivers. (For details, see <http:// But eLoran is more than a backup. Its www.insidegnss.com/node/4372>. Now signals are able to reach areas that the far- some key U.S. allies are planning to close weaker GPS signals cannot — building 24 InsideGNSS MARCH/APRIL 2015 www.insidegnss.com WASHINGTON VIEW interiors, urban canyons, underground no department has been willing to step were down for seven hours and the oper- computer rooms, forest depths, and even forward and risk a fiscal hit. ation of two other cranes was degraded. underwater installations. The crane incident, which Coast Given its capabilities, and the fact Pressure Mounts in the U.S. Guard speakers at a separate March con- that the annual estimated cost for run- In the years since the demise of the orig- ference on marine cybersecurity hinted ning a nation-wide eLoran system is a inal eLoran plan, the number of GNSS also occurred in the New Jersey area, relatively modest $50 million, the PNT jamming incidents has been mounting. was caused by another jammer-toting community came to consensus years ago In the two most widely publicized inci- trucker, according to Coast Guard Rear that eLoran was the best backup for GPS. dents affecting operations at the Newark Admiral Marshall B. Lytle. Lytle has That was before the Obama administra- airport, truckers were caught with small been tapped to lead implementation of tion canceled eLoran in 2010, ostensibly jammers that hampered the operation of the Coast Guard’s new cybersecurity ini- as a budget-reduction move. the facilities’ air traffic equipment. It took tiative that, although still not officially A number of the old Loran-C stations years for officials to figure out that the released, appears to encompass inter- have been dismantled since then. Con- intermittent interference in the first case ference with the GPS signal. The Coast gress put a stop to the teardowns in 2014 was being caused by a jammer-equipped Guard is also the designated contact with a bill ordering the U.S. Coast Guard, vehicle. The second case was resolved point for reports of GPS interference, which ran the original Loran system and more quickly and in 2013 trucker Gary according to a best-practices guide on remains responsible for the sites, to stop P. Bojczak was handed a $32,000 fine. improving robust timing and frequen- taking them apart until a final decision GPS jammers are also hampering cy sources issued in January to critical on eLoran could be reached. operations at the nation’s ports. Doz- infrastructure owners and operators by That was followed by the congres- ens of incidents have occurred in which the Department of Homeland Security sional letters — and the feds have been jammers had been placed in shipping (DHS). ruminating on the issue ever since. containers to mask the location of stolen The primary hang-up, as previously goods, according to the FBI. In 2014 a Coast Guard in the lead? reported, has been determining which jammer shut down two automated cranes Given its emerging cybersecurity role agency will take responsibility for the sys- when it caused them to lose their lock and prior experience as managers of tem. From the agencies’ point of view that on the GPS signal. Brett Rouzer, chief Loran-C, the Coast Guard appears to be means who gets stuck with the bill. Their of Maritime Critical Infrastructure and the agency most likely to land the job of anxieties are well founded. Congress has Key Resources Protection at the Coast managing the government’s side of an a habit of handing agencies tasks without Guard’s Cyber Command, told a confer- eLoran PPP — although other agencies giving them the money to do the job, and ence early this year that the two cranes such as the Department of Transporta- tion (DoT) or DHS might still be tapped. “They (the Coast Guard) obviously have done it before. They obviously are a military organization; so, they know how to protect [the system],” said Schue, who further noted the agency’s technical and contracting expertise. As for the private sector participants in a possible PPP, Schue said his firm had joined forces with another company to pursue the opportunity but would not take the lead. Schue declined to name the other company, as did an indepen- dent source who had spoken with the new player about its plans. “We thought it would be better if another company did it, so it’s not ‘Here’s those UrsaNav guys again,’” Schue told Inside GNSS. “We need to make sure that folks see that we’re not the only ones that are interested or that understand that this is a problem that we need to do Nominal eLoran system design for maritime users. Source: International Loran Association something about.” 26 InsideGNSS MARCH/APRIL 2015 www.insidegnss.com CRADA to enable the private The interest in the United States is sector to demonstrate eLoran coming from telecommunication provid- to potential customers. ers and from broadcasters, said radionav- DHS is leading the CRADA igation expert David Last. “It’s coming effort, he said. Now that the from people who are pushing bits around kerfuffle over the agency’s 2016 and [for whom] the standards required of budget has been resolved he is them are going up and up, and their need optimistic an announcement to acquire timing indoors is increasing.” of the CRADA would be seen The CRADA enables the private sec- in the Federal Register as early tor partners to directly demonstrate as May 1. Although Schue did Loran’s advantages to potential custom- not know if the Coast Guard, ers using signals from the remaining U.S. which is part of DHS, would sites. Although UrsaNav has data from its be involved, it seems likely as work overseas, which indicates eLoran is the agency still manages the more than capable of supporting the tim- Prof.
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