Civvie GPS switched off when war starts?

[undertheweather]

I've just had a thought..........

If (when) the war starts in the Middle East, are the Americans going to switch off the civilian part of GPS? I read today in one of Murdoch's rags that the Iraqi military used the degraded civilian GPS signals for navigation.

Although we all (of course) only use GPS as a secondary navigation tool, maybe this will lead to some swift revision of the navigation textbooks!

[Min Sink]

If I remember correctly the US can choose to degrade or turn off part of the coverage (e.g. over the Middle East).

There may be one or two less satellites available if the same satellite can cover the UK and the Middle East. So hopefully it shouldn't affect us too much.

[Doghouse]

GPS jamming trials have been going on for a little while in Hereford area - all NOTAMed. Don't know if it's connected to current climate but I've certainly heard a couple of pilots calling up lost in that area. At least it proves the jamming works!