An independent White House advisory group that focuses on Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies is calling out the U.S. government as a whole and the Department of Defense (DoD) in particular for stumbling over satellite interference issues and lagging on positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems alternatives.
In a memo issued on July 19 and publicly released on August 9, the National Space-based PNT Advisory Board argues that DoD’s GPS management suffers from poor governance. It recommends shifting authority and accountability for PNT decision-making beyond the DoD’s GPS program.
“Simply put, the Board believes that the 20-year-old framework for GPS governance and the current policy statements establish neither the priority that the system deserves nor sufficiently clear accountability for its performance,” the memo reads.
GPS was first developed by the Pentagon as a joint civil-military program and remains under the department’s authority. However, due to its extensive civilian and commercial use, GPS policy is managed by the National Executive Committee for Space-Based PNT (PNT EXCOM) – an interagency committee which oversees GPS policies, operations, and modernization with representatives from DoD, the departments of Transportation, Homeland Security, Commerce, State, Energy, along with NASA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“While GPS is a [DoD] program, the well-intentioned framework of an EXCOM to manage the interrelation of military and civil users is ineffective and nonresponsive to existing and emerging risks regarding not only GPS but the larger spectrum of U.S. PNT capabilities,” the advisory group’s memo states. It also argues that the current framework has led to fragmented and dispersed policies, resourcing, and program management across various departments and agencies.
The advisory board recommended that the PNT EXCOM appoint a lead agency and individual with clear authority for the prompt detection, characterization, and removal of major interference sources affecting GPS and other PNT systems in the U.S.
However, the core issue, according to the board, is that PNT EXCOM is essentially advisory in nature and lacks budgetary authority over DoD decisions related to GPS or its funding for upgrades and alternatives.
“America’s continued over-reliance on GPS for PNT makes critical infrastructure and applications vulnerable to a variety of well documented accidental, natural, and malicious threats,” the advisory group said.
Therefore, the board is also urging the Biden-Harris administration to review Space Policy Directive 7 (SPD-7), a U.S. Space-based PNT Policy, to develop a clear strategy supported by an updated governance framework.
The framework “should define roles and responsibilities, including creating programs of record with dedicated resourcing plans,” the memo reads. It also calls for establishing a “locus of authority and accountability for PNT decision-making beyond DoD GPS program management” and recommends removing the term “space-based” from the policy’s title. SPD-7, issued by President Trump, replaced an earlier policy from 2004
The board also voiced concern over systems like the EU’s Galileo and China’s BeiDou which it said are surpassing GPS in performance and jamming resistance. To address this, the board recommended the DoD activate the long-awaited L-5 signal for non-military users and suggests lifting International Traffic in Arms Regulations on advanced antennas.
