Satellite navigation for the masses!

There have been many, many false promises made of Glonass in recent years that effectively relegated it to the role of observer in the last 5 years or so of GNSS developments. It was rare if a year went by when promises of returning the constellation to full strength within 18 months were not made – followed by a long period of inactivity.

However, things are changing. Buoyed on by the roubles pouring into the Kremlin from Russia’s sale of their natural resources to power hungry Europeans firm developments are emerging. Firstly there was the agreement with India to co-develop and launch satellite, but more importantly now there is a strong sign about the Kremlin’s true rationale for returning the system to full strength – it is being installed into the aircraft that form a part of the new “constant combat duty” fleet.

It is clear that the Russian’s have finally re-awoken to the importance of satellite navigation in defence applications and much like a child re-discovers a forgotten toy have energetically starting playing with Glonass again. The upside of this investment for the rest of us is that dual constellation GNSS will be a reality with or without Galileo. Therefore, much of the effort being expended by industry, academia and government can be safely used without worries about the political stability of Galileo on a week by week basis.