The U.S. military is testing a wide-area GPS signal jammers that could enable California's GPS satellite navigation signals to cross from the Oregon border into Mexico during testing.
The tests were conducted on six Tuesdays and Thursdays this month - from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on June 7, 9, 21, 23, 28 and 30 - has the potential to disrupt satellite navigation on commercial airliners taking off from and arriving at busy West Coast ports of entry, such as Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco.
During these times, commercial and general aviation aircraft may need to revert to older air navigation systems, including VHF and mid-frequency radio beacons that send signals to cockpit avionics called VHF range (VOR) indicators and automatic direction finding (ADF).
For six days this month, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials in Washington issued a flight advisory warning to pilots (NOTAM), warning of a possible GPS outage on the plane.
The military tests, conducted at the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake in the desert town of Ridgecrest, California, "may result in unreliable or unavailable GPS signals," the FAA advisory warned.
When tested in an area that includes major airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay, San Diego, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, the GPS signals of planes flying at 25,000 feet could be interfered with or destroyed.
It is not just air navigation that has been affected. Land vehicles, boats and surface vessels could impair GPS functionality within 235 nautical miles of China Lake, which includes the ports of Los Angeles, Oakland and San Diego.
Details about the military GPS jamming test are scarce, but it begs the question: In more than half of the West Coast's major metropolitan areas, what is worth eliminating GPS navigation?
There is a very real threat that electronic warfare interference could cause extensive satellite navigation failures. The potential effects of GPS interference are not widely known, but the more we rely on GPS, the greater the threat.
Twenty years ago, no one thought much about GPS. Today, it has become standard on all smartphones. I know a lot of drivers can't live without it. Learning to use the highly regarded Rand McNally Road Atlas is not much of a priority these days.
In addition, trucking and transportation companies are using GPS to track their fleets, and the global air traffic control system is transitioning completely to GPS for fast and efficient air transportation. Where would we be without it?
For many vehicle operators, airline pilots and ship captains on the West Coast, they will find out this month. Hopefully, the test data we get from these tests will be worth it in the short term.
