Loran-C Towers Bite the Dust

August 19, 2010

Two Loran-C towers have been demolished. Budget cuts and better technology sealed the fate of radio towers that have been providing navigation signals. Congress voted to cut the Long Range Aids To Navigation (Loran-C) system in the 2010 budget after it was determined it wasn't needed as a back up to GPS technology, a much-disputed decision among GPS experts.

Shutting down Loran-C will save $36 million in fiscal 2010 and $190 million over five years, according to the Office of Management and Budget. The following video shows the U.S. Coast Guard demolishing the 625-foot Long Range Aids to Navigation tower in Attu, home of the westernmost Coast Guard unit in Alaska. Due to the deteriorating condition and with no funding for repairs, the station's 625-foot Loran tower was becoming an ever-increasing risk of uncontrolled collapse. Demolished August 14, the tower has been in operation near the Russia/Alaska border since 1960.

On April 28, explosives felled a 400-ton, 1,357 foot tall structural steel U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Tower in Port Clarence, Alaska,at 1:38 p.m.

The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) have discussed ways to provide terrestrial back up for GNSS (eLoran) in its global radionavigation plan. However, the navplan was written before the United States decision to close down Loran. According to IALA spokespersons, India and Canada have followed the U.S. Loran policy and will close down their stations. Reportedly, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will “note” the input of IALA and include it in further discussions on e-navigation.