An Alternative To GPS?

A U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Uses An Army Issued Smartphone To Pull Up A Map For Afghan Villagers United States Army via Wikimedia

New Ground-Based Indoor Positioning Tech Is Accurate Down To Just A Few Inches -- Popular Science

Locata's technology goes where GPS can't, delivering a signal one million times stronger than those beamed from satellites.

Indoor navigation is most certainly the holy grail for positioning system makers right now. Satellite-based location technologies like GPS work wonderfully out under the open sky, where signals bounced from satellites to receivers on the ground are unhindered by man-made structures or natural obstructions. Take that same technology into the subway or a large shopping mall, and the signal goes dead. But a new ground-based positioning system called Locata could soon replace or augment satnav using radio signals that are a million times stronger than GPS signals, indoors or out.

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My Comment: The military will love this .... if it works.

Russia's GPS Network Is Put On Hold

RIA Novosti / Oleg Urusov

Russian Military's Support Of GLONASS On Ice After Corruption Scandal, Technical Failures - Report -- RT

The Russian Defense Ministry has reportedly refused to adopt GLONASS, the country’s rival to GPS, due to its technical shortcomings. One of the system’s 24 satellites has malfunctioned, and besides, GLONASS is still in its testing phase.

­The malfunctioning satellite will not be operational any time soon as it has already exhausted its power after 96 months in service, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports. And due to a difference in orbit inclination, no existing reserve satellite can substitute it.

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My Comment: After a decade of war the U.S. has clearly shown the value of GPS systems for precision bomb strikes. Not having this essential network is a significant loss for the Russian military.

Update: A link to how China and other countries are trying to develop their own GPS system.

China's Beidou Satellite Navigation System Is Now Global

The LM-3C launch vehicle carrying a Beidou satellite into orbit in November, 2010 (Photo: China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology)

China's Beidou Satellite Navigation System Goes Global -- People`s Daily Online

As an independently-developed-and-operated global satellite navigation system, the Beidou satellite navigation system of China is embracing the world with a more open attitude while providing a new choice of navigation services for the world and winning a greater say for China to keep a foothold in the international satellite navigation field.

The 7th conference of the International Committee on Global Satellite Navigation System (ICG) was recently held in Beijing. The conference gathered some 240 conferees from 16 countries and regions as well as 18 international organizations, and focused on such main topics as compatibility and interoperability, service improvement and capability building of the satellite navigation systems.

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My Comment: No mention in any Chinese press release on the GPS military applications that this technology now presents itself for China`s armed forces.