On Target, Off the Grid: Preparing for Non-Permissive Environments

By LT Sarah Blake, USN

The aviation community relies heavily on Global Positioning System (GPS) for navigation. From using ForeFlight on an Electronic Knee Board (EKB) to the convenience of shooting an ILS approach, we have grown accustomed to using GPS on a daily basis. For example, when was the last time you flew a night flight over the mountains and did not have GPS as your primary or backup navigation source?

It is one thing to be searching for LZ #19 at Camp Pendleton at night without any guidance systems, but it is an entirely different situation to be navigating in the South China Sea without any valid waypoints marking territorial waters. With the increasing likelihood of a kinetic conflict with the People's Republic of China (PRC), the helicopter community must ensure it is ready for the fight. We cannot afford to be caught unprepared and forward-deployed in a GPS-denied environment, as the potential consequences are severe.

What is even more concerning than a lack of precision guidance is the lack of Link-16. Not having access to a command and control network in a kinetic environment is a major issue and fundamentally changes our operations. How will we conduct our tactical operations, such as receiving or passing targeting information or coordinating a SCAR mission in a Romeo? We need to include a GPS-denied environment simulator event in the syllabus to prepare for this inevitable wartime situation and we need to do it without delay. We should become experts at tracking a PRC submarine approaching the torpedo range of an aircraft carrier, but we also cannot forget to teach the geopolitical situation surrounding our scenarios. If we are tracking a hostile sub in the real world, we will be operating in a non-permissive environment.

Every aspect of flying helicopters is vulnerable to jamming and denial-of-service attacks, including basic features such as VHF/UHF communications and radar altimeters. It is open-source information that our adversaries are capable of this denial. The threat is real and right now we are at risk of being caught off guard. We must approach this reality with the utmost seriousness and determination. We must all work together to be ready for the fight and start training for denied environments now.