SpaceX’s Starlink satellites could make US Army navigation hard to jam

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ^ | 09/29/2- | MIT

[KC_Lion]

Ping!

[Night Hides Not]

Does this mean curtains for the most dangerous weapon in the US Army inventory?

A 2nd Lieutenant with a map.

[marktwain]

It is one of the things I immediately thought of when considering starlink.

It also hardens military communications (potentially all communications).

[dfwgator]

Does this mean curtains for the most dangerous weapon in the US Army inventory? A 2nd Lieutenant with a map.

[marktwain]

Does this mean curtains for the most dangerous weapon in the US Army inventory?

A 2nd Lieutenant with a map.

The importance of map reading skills has been declining for at least two decades.

I have decent map and compass skills.

But, there are lots of people who cannot read maps or use compasses.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

CAPTAIN Sobel this is MAJOR Horton. Goddammit, cut down the damned fence and move out.

[dfwgator]

“Ahh now, that dog just won’t hunt!”

What a great scene!

[Busywhiskers]

Teach them navigation with a map and compass and jamming isn’t a problem.

[left that other site]

My car has gps but my old Harley doesn’t. Both the Harley and the car have a map and a compass, and that’s what I use.

[Night Hides Not]

Yes, quite a few captains are none too adept with maps, too.

[srmanuel]

Smart bombs can’t read a compass and a map....

[Spktyr]

How do you propose to teach a cruise missile to use a compass and a map?

[PIF]

I have decent map and compass skills.

But, there are lots of people who cannot read maps or use compasses.

—
There are lots of people that don’t know what a map or compass are ...

[Busywhiskers]

The IQ of a “smart bomb” goes down without GPS. I talking about ground pounders.

[srmanuel]

True, but there is whole bunch of people who rely on precise navigational positions...

Aircraft, Ships, Submarines, etc...all need to know exactly where they are in relation to other places....

[calenel]

If the smart bombs are using GPS and the troops are using compasses and maps, there are going to be problems. Everybody should be on the same tech. When the GPS system fails, compasses and maps will be a good backup and the smart bombs and missiles will be offline, anyway.

[Pollard]

The wife and I traveled across the country with a Rand McNally road atlas but when we sailed a big lake in FL that had old pilings, some of which were a foot below the surface, I used a handheld gps.

[marktwain]

It takes a certain type of intelligence

to understand maps and to use compasses well.

Substantial numbers of people are not up to it.

I suspect the number of people who can do it well is less than 20%.

[Stingray51]

How often does today’s Army train on land navigation without GPS? I believe I read somewhere that the DOD / military does not print or issue paper maps anymore. Perhaps a recent or current servicemember can weigh in.