A senior NATO official has warned that Europe鈥檚 planned Galileo satellite navigation system could interfere with allied military operations 鈥� but the European Space Agency says this concern is unfounded.
Robert Bell, assistant secretary general for defence support at NATO, told a conference in Brussels that the organisation fears Galileo could provide enemy forces with a positioning service that cannot be jammed without also blocking the existing US-operated Global Positioning System (GPS).
This is because the frequencies used by Galileo could potentially interfere with those used by the GPS.
Advertisement
In times of military conflict, normal GPS signals can be degraded, leaving only an encrypted US-operated military service. Non-military signals can also be deliberately blocked in a particular region. The same will be possible with Galileo. But Bell said NATO fears the frequencies used by Galileo could not be blocked without interfering with the encrypted GPS signal.
Hans Fromm, deputy head of the Navigation Department at the European Space Agency (ESA), dismisses this concern. He says Galileo鈥檚 frequencies have not yet been finalised and will be agreed in advance with the US. 鈥淚 would never suspect we would plan the signals in such a way,鈥� he told New 杏吧原创. 鈥淲e have a frequency plan that takes into account American plans.鈥�
Challenging dominance
鈥淣ATO has not taken a position either for or against Galileo,鈥� Bell told the Financial Times. 鈥淸But it must be] able, if required, to deny a potential adversary鈥檚 access to the satellite positioning service available from any other satellite navigation services during a conflict.鈥�
The US government has previously raised this same concern. Another ESA spokesman claims this is primarily because Galileo would challenge US dominance of commercial satellite navigation services.
Galileo was approved by European government ministers in March 2002.
In May 2002, the US government announced $90m of new funding to boost the signal used by GPS by eight times. This is partly to protect the system from jamming, officials say.
The first Galileo satellites are scheduled to launch in 2004 and the entire system should go live in 2008.
