Our enemies found a weakness in essential technology. We must fix it … fast

In July, Iran attempted to marque bully connected its menace to adjacent the Strait of Hormuz. Yet the strait had already ceased functioning arsenic reliable commercialized infrastructure agelong before. Since the struggle started, much than 1,100 vessels recorded GPS and AIS interference successful a azygous day, ships appeared connected tracking systems astatine airports oregon heavy wrong Iranian territory, and vessel crews navigated 1 of the world’s busiest waterways by radar unsocial due to the fact that outer navigation could nary longer beryllium trusted. Iran did much than endanger a chokepoint. It demonstrated what a determined adversary tin bash to the outer infrastructure the modern satellite has taken for granted.

America depends connected a second, invisible choke point: the Global Positioning System. GPS timestamps each recognition paper swipe and equity trade, synchronizes the powerfulness grid and cellular networks, and guides combines done fields, instrumentality ships into port, and infantry done contested terrain.

That faint awesome – engineered successful the 1970s successful a antithetic clip erstwhile our enemies weren't arsenic savvy – present carries the value of the full planetary system and our subject edge. That satellite is gone. Global aviation logged astir 430,000 jamming and spoofing incidents successful 2024, a crisp 62% summation successful a azygous year. A basal jammer tin beryllium built from off-the-shelf parts for a fewer 100 dollars.

GEN. JACK KEANE WARNS AGAINST TRUSTING IRAN ON STRAIT OF HORMUZ

I cognize what reliable navigation means successful combat. As a Ranger, I ne'er thought astir GPS successful combat. It located my team, guided the craft supra us, and synchronized fires without ever announcing itself. We took it for granted. Today’s work members bask nary specified luxury. We are sending American forces into contested spaces with a susceptible strategy designed fractional a period ago.

Oil tankers and cargo ships enactment up successful the Strait of Hormuz arsenic seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

No incremental upgrade tin hole GPS. Its weakness is physics, not engineering oversight. A outer successful mean Earth orbit broadcasting astatine constricted powerfulness volition ever nutrient a faint awesome astatine the receiver. A adjacent jammer volition ever overpower it. Military M-Code offers marginal improvements but does not alteration the cardinal math.

China has drawn the evident conclusion. The Chinese Communist Party is rapidly expanding next-generation navigation satellites, including debased Earth orbit (LEO) constellations that run person to Earth, broadcast acold stronger signals and are designed with physics warfare successful mind.

Beijing aims to predominate the navigation furniture of the 21st-century economy. Congress has noted this displacement successful unusually blunt terms, stating successful past year’s defence authorization that the United States is falling down China successful outer navigation.

The solution is not different dilatory authorities program. It is emerging from American commercialized industry. U.S. companies person designed and launched navigation satellites successful home factories utilizing backstage capital. These systems present run successful LEO, delivering signals up to 100 times stronger than GPS.

They defy spoofing by design, supply centimeter-level accuracy, and enactment with the GPS receivers already installed successful millions of aircraft, vehicles, vessels and weapons. A bundle update is often each it takes to modulation instrumentality America already owns to navigation that tin past attacks.

The Space Force understands this. Earlier this year, it canceled plans for a government-owned "Resilient GPS (R-GPS)" constellation successful favour of leveraging commercialized services. The fiscal twelvemonth 2027 defence measure present advancing successful the House would necessitate the Air Force to show capabilities with commercialized LEO providers – investigating cognition without GPS, absorption to jamming and spoofing, and accelerated restoration if satellites are lost.

The objection is simply a bully start, but it is not enough. Three factual steps would crook legislature absorption into deployed capability: first, money what Congress has already directed. The 2027 defence appropriations measure should make a dedicated fund enactment for the commercialized LEO objection and follow-on services. This concern would outgo a fraction of a azygous GPS III outer – and acold little than the $1 cardinal erstwhile earmarked for R-GPS.

No incremental upgrade tin hole GPS. Its weakness is physics, not engineering oversight. 

Second, procure operational services, not much studies. Commercial providers are already placing accumulation satellites into orbit with backstage capital. The Department of Defense should declaration for resilient navigation arsenic a work – conscionable arsenic it does for motorboat services – and wage for proven show successful orbit.

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Third, acceptable resilience standards for captious infrastructure. Merchant crews navigating the Strait of Hormuz by radar this outpouring utilized receivers astir 15 years retired of date. Farmers, inferior operators, and hose pilots look the aforesaid exposure. Federal regulators should found minimum resilience requirements that bequest GPS tin nary longer conscionable connected its own.

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In 1973, the United States wagered that a constellation of navigation satellites would alteration warfare and the planetary economy. That wager succeeded beyond immoderate planner’s dreams, and it taught our adversaries precisely what to clasp astatine risk. Iran disrupted a strait the satellite assumed would stay open. Our much susceptible adversaries mean to disrupt a awesome America assumes volition ever beryllium overhead.

The adjacent epoch of navigation volition beryllium to the archetypal federation to absorption connected fielding resilient capabilities. American manufacture has already placed them successful orbit. Whether the U.S. authorities moves astatine the velocity of relevance volition find if America retains the decisive vantage it has held for 50 years – oregon cedes it to different power.