but it makes me wonder why in hell the Russians don't just use WGS-84.
Probably for similar reasons we have Microsoft & Apple, (or had Betamax and VHS). Why is a system based on where the Poles where in 1900 or 1984 any better than a modern system?
Europe is building its own satellite navigation system called Galileo. It will consist of 30 satellites and the first should be launched in 2010, with the system operational at the end of 2013. Total cost about 4.9 bn EUR.
From NewScientist 20May 2009 : "
DON'T take your satnav for granted. Existing satellites are ageing, and replacements are behind schedule and over budget, according to a report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Satnavs and other GPS devices calculate their position by comparing time signals from at least four satellites. To keep that many within range at all times requires a fleet of at least 24. For now there are 31 operating, but 13 of them are more than four years past their design lifetime.
The first replacement "block IIF" satellites are not due to launch till November, three years behind schedule, and the GAO predicts a 20 per cent chance that the fleet will drop below 24 at times in 2011 and 2012. That wouldn't cause GPS to shut down, but its accuracy would drop unpredictably.
Plans by the US air force for the next generation of improved "block IIIA" satellites could also fall behind. The GAO calculates that if they slip by just two years, there is a 90 per cent chance that the fleet will drop below 24 in 2018."