The U.S. Navy wants A GPS System For Its Submarines

Photo: A rocket carrying a GPS satellite launches in July 1997. (Joe Skipper / Reuters)

Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic: GPS Doesn't Work Underwater

So the U.S. Navy is developing a new kind of system—built specifically for drone submarines.

To prepare for the possibility that it will one day deploy swarms of uncrewed drone submarines, the U.S. Navy is developing a system that will allow the global positioning system (GPS) to function deep below the ocean’s surface. If successful, the technology could start to appear as soon as the 2020s.

The global positioning system is a marvel of accurate clocks and simple physics. A GPS receiver, like the kind in smartphones or car navigation systems, is little more than a radio antenna tuned to satellites. It listens for signals from the three GPS satellites that happen to be closest (there are more than 50 satellites in total, all constantly broadcasting their time), then it triangulates its own location from where it knows those satellites to be. Though composed only of silent listeners and a constellation of passive beacons, GPS can tell someone where they are on or above the planet’s surface.

But take heed of the prepositions—on or above. Right now, GPS signals can barely go below.

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WNU Editor: I can see how the development of such a GPS system would be a huge boost for the U.S. Navy's submarine fleet. But I suspect that in the event of a major war, these same undersea buoys that will tell a sub or underwater drone where it is located in the world will also be a priority target for the other side.