No. of Recommendations: 8
DH and I used to fly our Cessna 150 and 177 cross-country, to Canada and the Caribbean during the 1990s. The FAA thoughtfully provided thousands of VORs (Variable Omnidirectional Radar) all around the U.S. While DH flew, I held a detailed large paper chart that covered a specific area. As we flew, I would adjust our radio receiver to the local VOR to make sure we were on the beam. DH had a large nylon pack containing all the contiguous charts for our route.
When Garmin released its first commercial GPS for use in general aviation aircraft I bought it for DH as a gift. It cost hundreds of dollars and provoked envy in other general aviation pilots. I still used the charts but using GPS was a game changer. I like the charts because they show all the little airports along the way which could be a landing spot if needed. The FAA still maintains VORs but is planning to cut way back since commercial airliners all use GPS.
Nowadays, every teenager has a mobile phone equipped with GPS. Many drivers can't even read a map as their GPS-equipped cars give them directions to their destinations. (Assuming these aren't driverless cars.)
Remembering what the world was like before GPS is like remembering the world before telephones or radio. We all take GPS totally for granted. The U.S. GPS system is world-wide.
Weapons systems all use GPS, including missiles and drones. But what happens if GPS is jammed or spoofed? This can mess up the weapon -- and also collateral civilian GPS.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/science/gps-jamming...
# GPS jamming is emerging as an increasingly prevalent — and troubling — weapon of war
By Katie Hunt, CNN Science, Updated Mar 6, 2026
Within 24 hours of the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran, ships in the region’s waters found their navigation systems had gone haywire, erroneously indicating that the vessels were at airports, a nuclear power plant and on Iranian land.
The location confusion was a result of widespread jamming and spoofing of signals from global positioning satellite systems. Used by all sides in conflict zones to disrupt the paths of drones and missiles, the process involves militaries and affiliated groups intentionally broadcasting high-intensity radio signals in the same frequency bands used by navigation tools. Jamming results in the disruption of a vehicle’s satellite-based positioning while spoofing leads to navigation systems reporting a false location. ...
There are multiple global navigation satellite systems, with the US-run Global Positioning System, or GPS, being the best-known and most used. The EU operates a parallel system called [Galileo,](https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/tech/galileo-gnss-o...) China has its own [BeiDou satellites](https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/24/tech/china-beidou-s...) and Russia has a system known as [GLONASS](https://glonass-iac.ru/en/about_glonass/)....
On highly automated, modern ships, GPS interference can be hard to detect. And while it’s perfectly possible to navigate using alternative tools, including radar, inertial systems such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, visual watchkeeping, and celestial navigation, younger mariners are often less familiar with these techniques and tools. ... [end quote]
The article is packed with lots of examples.
I can't help wondering whether it would be more cost-effective to base a missile (or drone) defense system on GPS jamming rather than interceptor missiles.
Wendy
