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eLoran

What is eLoran?

Enhanced  Loran:
All the good stuff from Loran-C, plus:

Time-of-Transmission control

Differential corrections (dLoran and/or DGPS)

Receivers can use all-in-view signals

Loran Data Channel (LDC)

Additional integrity

Transmissions synchronized to UTC

New  Infrastructure & Technology:

21st century solid state transmitters

Three cesium-based PRS per station

Precision time & frequency equipment

Whole-station UPS

Secure telecommunications

New  Operations Paradigms

Unmanned and/or autonomous operation

Sites v. Stations

Time-of-Emission v. System Area Monitor

 Terrain effects (ASF) modeling and/or measurement

GPS (GNSS) & (e)Loran

 How are they similar?

 How are they different?

Enhanced Loran, or eLoran, was developed in the United States starting in the mid-1990’s. At that point, it was simply the
beginning of the Loran Modernization and Recapitalization Program that the  U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)was undertaking to
ensure the system was efficient and effective should it operate beyond 2000. UrsaNav’s CEO, Charles Schue, was the first
Program Manager for this effort, until his retirement from the Coast Guard in 2000. With a Congressional mandate to continue
Loran beyond 2000, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)joined with the USCG to continue improving and advancing the
system. The FAA had always been a supporter of Loran, and had paid for installing four new transmitting sites in the mid-
continental United States to improve Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT) for the aviation community.

eLoran is a major technology upgrade of Loran-C, but can be provided by the same sites and antenna technology used for
Loran-C. For example, the U.S. portion of the North American Loran-C system served the CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii, and EEZ.
Eighteen stations provided CONUS coverage. A further six stations were located in Alaska. Five stations in Canada provided
signals that were shared across the US-Canadian common border, thereby improving PNT service in both countries. At one
point, the station in Attu, Alaska operated in partnership with two Russian Chayka stations known as Aleksandrovsk-
Kamchatsky and Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky. Before their closure in 1993, there were also three “Hawaiian” stations operating.

When GPS was declared fully operational in 1994, the U.S. military eliminated its requirement for Loran-C. In recognition that
Loran-C did not meet emerging PNT requirements, the U.S. Government invested over $160M from 1997 through 2010 to
modernize and upgrade Loran-C to eLoran. The program was executed with coordination between the USCG and the FAA, and
was designed and tested to meet Non-Precision Approach (NPA) performance in support of aviation, Harbor Entrance and
Approach (HEA) in support of marine, and Stratum 1 time and frequency in support of communications and network
operations. In addition, a variety of policy decisions were made at the U.S. executive level that recognized the value and
importance of eLoran. Moreover, government, academic, and industry studies, nationally and internationally, have evaluated
the operational and cost-benefit of eLoran and overwhelmingly reported positive findings. A relatively recent and authoritative
study was the Benefit-Cost Assessment Refresh: The Use of eLORAN to Mitigate GPS Vulnerability for PNT Services, 11/5/2009
(prepared for the USCG/DHS and FAA/DOT by the John A. Volpe NTSC, U.S. DOT, Cambridge, MA.).

Read more

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