Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure military access to GPS satellites resilient to jamming of signals for (a) communications, (b) direct energy weapons, (c) route planning and (d) local confirmation; and if he will make a statement.
UK Armed Forces rely upon accurate Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) information for a variety of critical applications. GPS, owned and run by the US Armed Forces, is our main system; as a tier 1 nation, we have privileged access to the most secure GPS signals. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a dedicated Research & Development programme looking at diminishing traditional PNT vulnerabilities. This includes key work with industry on research into anti-jam techniques (jamming is the most common form of PNT interference) and the £70 million Robust Global Navigation System contract to deliver Multi Constellation Open Signal receivers, further decreasing our vulnerabilities. The MOD is committed to a systems-of-systems approach to managing PNT vulnerabilities, including with cross-Government partners.