By Dana A. Goward

Australia really punches above its weight when it comes to positioning, navigation and timing (PNT).

Yet, as with many nations, a focus on GPS and other GNSS seems to have led to dangerous over-dependence. It has likely blinded leaders to economic and national security vulnerabilities, and commercial opportunities.

This week’s ANCHOR report from Melbourne’s FrontierSI outlines in some detail the many threats to GNSS service, along with a variety of ways to mitigate them.

But one must wonder, even if political leaders are informed of the threats, do they also appreciate the risks?

• PNT underpins, not just navigation from place to place, but virtually all technologies from telecommunications to power systems.
• The threats to PNT from GNSS are many and serious.
• A nation that relies primarily on GNSS for PNT is risking almost everything.

But the risks can be reduced to almost nothing. Many nations, including the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, and China, have or are implementing core resilient PNT architectures. These integrate PNT signals from space, from terrestrial broadcast, and time over fibre.

Such hybrid systems are exceptionally difficult to disrupt. And they are relatively inexpensive to implement and maintain — certainly when compared to the cost of a major GNSS disruption.

Australia is ideally positioned to both protect its own national and economic security and expand its commercial sector by helping others.

The nation’s PNT intellectual capital is impressive. Swinburne University of Technology, and the Australian Centre for Space Engineering and Research at the University of New South Wales are two examples of academic excellence. Non-profit FrontierSI produces world-class products like the ANCHOR report, and the Australian Institute of Navigation’s biennial conference attracts attendance from across the world.

And while Australia has an abundance of companies focused on satellite navigation, it also has a nascent industry providing timing and/or navigation without reliance on space.

Locata, headquartered in ACT, offers exceptionally precise time and location using its beacon network. In Sydney Advanced Navigation uses inertial systems and acoustics, and Q-CTRL is pushing the boundaries of quantum.

Australia has all the elements it needs to protect its own national and economic security with resilient PNT, and to reap the economic benefits of helping others do the same.

The only missing piece seems to be government awareness and leadership to bring it all together.

Dana A. Goward is President of the non-profit Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.