Europe's General Lighthouse Authorities Praise LORAN Decision
February 25, 2008The General Lighthouse Authorities of the United Kingdom and Ireland (GLA) has lauded the U.S. decision to maintain enhanced LORAN (eLORAN) in the U.S. as a complement to GPS, and is developing a similar system for Europe.
The GLA has long been proponents of maintaining LORAN (Long Range Aid to Navigation), a terrestrial, radio-based navigation system that uses the time intervals between the reception of signals to trilaterate a user's position.
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, according to the GLA. While GPS has revolutionized PNT, it has known vulnerabilities, the group noted. While Galileo and other GNSS may alleviate some of those vulnerabilities from a navigational perspective, all satellite-based systems share the same vulnerabilities to some degree, the GLA said.
The group further noted that 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; 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 system to complement Galileo, the GLA concluded. In determining its long-term PNT mix Europe needs a mature and rational debate about GNSS vulnerability that recognizes both the benefits of having two satellite navigation systems, Galileo and GPS, as well as the benefits of system diversity based on eLORAN, the group said.
The group also announced that it has deployed its latest eLORAN station in Cumbria, in Northwest England. It joins operating stations in Norway, France, Germany and the Faeroe Islands; the GLAs further said it was now providing a trial eLORAN service in Northern Europe.
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