“Global navigation satellite systems” (GNSS)—that’s quite a mouthful; we Americans prefer to refer, instead, to GPS, which stands for Global Positioning System. But GNSS is a category while GPS is a product, specifically a U.S. product, an inferior one in fact. Competing GNSS systems include Europe’s Galileo, Russia’s GLONASS, and Red China’s BeiDou (BDS).
Thad Allen, a retired U.S. Coast Guard admiral, is the chairman of the U.S. National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board. He says that the capabilities of GPS “are now substantially inferior to those of China’s BeiDou” and that we need to “to launch an initiative to regain U.S. PNT leadership.”
Advantages
BeiDou offers several advantages over “substantially inferior” GPS.
The most important is that it is more precise. In fact, suggests Maritime Education, “China’s strategy is not to replace GPS outright but to offer a high-precision alternative, reducing [international] reliance on U.S. technology while expanding its [own] influence.” One reason BeiDou is more precise is that as of 2024 it had “56 satellites in orbit (nearly double GPS’s 31), enhancing signal strength and reliability.”
High precision serves military targeting well. In case of war, Beijing will not be at the mercy of Washington-controlled GPS services for navigating or target acquisition, and its missiles, drones, bombs, and artillery will be delivered more accurately than ours.
We know that Red China “has already sold access to its military-only [BeiDou] signal to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, allowing these countries to use BeiDou-enabled precision-guided munitions.”
One wonders if Pakistan used BeiDou targeting against India in their recent clash.
And then there’s Iran. Does Iran have access to the military-only signal? Might those Israel-versus-Iran strikes be guided by GPS on one side and BeiDou on the other?
Nonmilitary BeiDou
The nonmilitary BeiDou signal is free to use, a boon to the global south, which is well covered by BeiDou satellite services even in South America. It can support text messaging, independently of telephone or Internet services, in remote, otherwise service-free areas. If that’s not helpful enough, BeiDou can also map the sea bottom, should you have business to conduct on the ocean floor.
BeiDou is pervasive even in the global north. Your smart phone may already be talking to BeiDou. Apple’s iPhone supports it, as do most Android systems. In 2020, Apple said that iPhone 11 was using BeiDou “as part of its location data system.” Surprise!
As you move around, the phone automatically switches to the strongest available GNSS signal; no need to download and install apps. The signal might be GPS or it might be communist Chinese. You don’t get to choose.
As with any dual-use communist product, it pays to look at the security issues. “Concerns abound that the navigation signal may be able to install malware into a user’s device,” according to a piece in Joint Force Quarterly, but this is “highly unlikely, according to industry experts.” Ah yes, the unnamed experts assure us about what is unlikely. Be confident in the unlikely.
“However, malware could be installed through the BeiDou receiver chip, especially in a Chinese-manufactured device, or if the device uses the two-way transmission messaging service. Two-way transmission is necessary for BeiDou to monitor the location of the user and provide enhanced, post-processed position accuracy.” Do Apple or Android phones have such chips?
Have some more confidence: “The traditional one-way listening activity of receiving PNT [Positioning, Navigation, and Timing data] is inherently safe from a cyber-intrusion standpoint.” Is it also safe from monitoring and tracking?
More to come
The BeiDou team is not resting on its laurels.
2025 is the year that the communists plan to “complete key technology research for the next-generation Beidou system.” They expect to launch “three test satellites around 2027, according to the ‘BeiDou Satellite Navigation System Development Plan before 2035,’ released by the China Satellite Navigation System Management Office” in November 2024. “The next generation of BeiDou system networking satellites will then be launched around 2029.”
Further, “To expand its reach in China’s consumer market, BeiDou is expanding its compatibility from smartphones and in-vehicle satellite navigation systems to wearables, drones, electric bikes and robots.”
Will some of those products find their way stateside? Bet on it. Your hoodie will guide you around town and maybe report your location to whoever needs to know. If your electric bike is swiped, the cops can get it back. Your robot dog can roam the neighborhood and never get lost. Oh the convenience!
Meanwhile, our own “next-generation GPS service for civilians is not expected to be released for several years.” Seems like a tortoise and hare race. We’ll need this Beijing hare to take a long nap in order for GPS to win. □
James Roth works for a major defense contractor in Virginia.
