Doesn the 2004 policy call for deactivation of GPS during national security crises?
No. The U.S. Space-Based PNT Policy does not include anything about deactivating GPS. In fact, the policy declares GPS to be an element of the nation’s critical infrastructure that must be protected against disruption. The policy reaffirms the U.S. intent to deny hostile uses of space-based PNT through Navigation Warfare. Navigation Warfare involves protecting U.S. and Allied use of GPS while simultaneously preventing hostile forces access to space-based PNT services and preserving peaceful civil GPS use outside of an area of military operations. The United States is committed to fielding a range of necessary denial options to prevent the hostile use of space-based PNT through regional denial of service, minimizing the impact to peaceful users outside the area of conflict. Prior to the development of Navigation Warfare, GPS employed a feature called Selective Availability, which degraded civilian accuracy on a global basis. Selective Availability was discontinued in 2000 and the United
