With every tap of your phone to find directions, every aircraft’s touchdown, and every split-second online payment, an invisible powerhouse works behind the scenes—satellite-based PNT. This stealthy network is the engine of our high-speed world, and it’s fast becoming the next big arena for global showdowns.
At the heart of PNT is a trio of functions: determining where something is, how fast it’s moving, and what time it is. These signals, primarily provided by satellite systems like the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), allow everything from mobile phones to missile systems to operate in synchrony. By measuring how long it takes for satellite signals to reach a receiver, devices on the ground can triangulate their position, calculate speed, and synchronize time down to nanoseconds.
This quiet infrastructure powers everything from communications, commerce, transportation, logistics, and underpins critical military operations. On today’s battlefield, PNT is essential. It guides drones, synchronizes encrypted communications, supports precision strikes, and ensures coordinated maneuvers across land, sea, and air.
But its importance is matched by its vulnerability.
Satellite-based PNT is inherently fragile. By the time GPS signals reach Earth, they are astonishingly weak, vulnerable to jamming (overwhelming signals with noise) and spoofing (sending fake signals to mislead receivers). These threats can disrupt ships, misguide aircraft, and throw financial systems out of sync.
The risks don’t stop with electronics. The satellites themselves are exposed in orbit, susceptible to anti-satellite weapons, interceptors, and directed-energy attacks, all of which are being quietly developed by major powers.
China has been particularly active. Since at least 2019, it has demonstrated the ability to spoof GPS signals at scale, most notably during the “circle spoofing” incident at Shanghai Port, where ships reported looping positions on land, suggesting deliberate interference. Similar events have occurred near sensitive military regions, including Hainan Island and the South China Sea.
These incidents reveal a strategic shift: PNT is no longer just a background utility it is now a contested strategic asset.
The roots of China’s PNT transformation trace back to a moment of national embarrassment. In 1996, during Taiwan’s first direct presidential election, the PLA launched three ballistic missiles as a show of force. Two went off course an internal review later blamed disrupted access to U.S.-controlled GPS signals. At the time, China had no alternative.
That failure lit the fuse. Beijing vowed to build its own sovereign navigation system, no matter the cost.
Decades later, that vision is fully realized in BeiDou, China’s global satellite navigation system, and it’s not just a GPS clone. It’s larger, more layered, and more resilient.
As of 2025, BeiDou operates with 56 satellites, nearly double the current GPS count. It uses a hybrid orbital strategy combining geostationary (GEO), inclined geosynchronous (IGSO), and medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites. This design improves signal strength and coverage, especially in challenging environments like mountains or cities.
Compared to GPS, which relies solely on MEO satellites, BeiDou’s layered architecture is inherently more flexible and fault-tolerant. Its ground network is also far more extensive, with over 120 control stations versus GPS’s 11. This allows for real-time monitoring and rapid correction of errors or disruptions.
China’s strategy goes further than space. It has built nearly 300 ground-based backup systems and fibre-linked timing networks. But the crown jewel of this terrestrial layer is enhanced Loran (eLoran) — a throwback to Cold War-era navigation, modernized for 21st-century resilience.
eLoran uses low-frequency, high-power radio signals that can travel thousands of kilometers and penetrate terrain and buildings. These signals are millions of times stronger than GPS and nearly impossible to jam. Unlike satellite signals, which can be spoofed or blocked, eLoran’s distinct pulse-based transmissions make it far more secure.
While not as precise as GPS (10–20 meters vs. GPS’s sub-meter accuracy), eLoran is ideal as a robust fallback, especially in urban and maritime environments where GPS can falter.
China isn’t stopping at MEO. It’s now building CentiSpace, a new PNT constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO). Signals from LEO satellites are stronger, faster, and harder to jam or spoof than those from MEO.
In early 2025, China launched the first 10 CentiSpace satellites, with plans to scale to around 190. When integrated with BeiDou’s MEO and GEO layers, CentiSpace will provide multi-orbit resilience, making China’s navigation system one of the most robust on the planet.
Beijing is also exporting BeiDou’s capabilities. In 2018, it granted military-grade access to Pakistan, allowing highly precise missile and drone targeting. Today, Pakistan has reportedly transitioned entirely to BeiDou, severing its reliance on GPS, a move with significant military implications for South Asia.
