Washington -- Good night, Loran.

In a series of small ceremonies, the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday shut down Loran-C, a navigation and timing system that has guided mariners and aviators since World War II.

The death blow came last May when President Obama called the system obsolete, saying it is no longer needed in an age in which Global Positioning System devices are nearly ubiquitous in cars, planes and boats.

But supporters of Loran -- including the man known as "the father of GPS" -- say the nation's increasing reliance on GPS paradoxically has increased the importance of maintaining Loran as a backup.

Supporters also argue that the mere existence of Loran makes the GPS satellite system a less attractive target for cyber-thugs, terrorists or future military adversaries.

Supporters of Loran -- short for long range navigation system -- say the system is a near-perfect backup because it provides similar information to GPS, but has dissimilar infrastructure.

www.cnn.com . . .

But supporters of Loran -- including the man known as "the father of GPS" -- say the nation's increasing reliance on GPS paradoxically has increased the importance of maintaining Loran as a backup.

Supporters also argue that the mere existence of Loran makes the GPS satellite system a less attractive target for cyber-thugs, terrorists or future military adversaries.

Supporters of Loran -- short for long range navigation system -- say the system is a near-perfect backup because it provides similar information to GPS, but has dissimilar infrastructure.

You are welcome to use the GALILEO Satellite Navigation System, when it is ready... in 2050

HuguesCapet wrote:

President Obama called the system obsolete

JeanValette wrote:

HuguesCapet wrote:

President Obama called the system obsolete

This empty suit could not even run a cash register, yet he is making economic policy. He could not lead himself out of an empty bag, yet he is telling generals how to marshal the troops. His motorcades keep getting lost down the street from the white house, yet he wants to tell mariners engulfed by the vast blue how time honored reliable navigation systems are no longer useful. Navigation at sea is like land navigation in the desert. It is difficult, because there are usually no landmarks. If Barack Hussein Obama had a compass in his hands in the desert and he knew the bearing of an oasis a few miles from him, would he make it? For all the ridiculing of President Bush, he was a much more astute leader for most of his term, because he knew his lane. He also had enough sense to defer to experts and he did not show an unwarranted know-it-all attitude like Barack Hussein Obama.

balls wrote:

Next stop: Let's turn all the VOR stations into windmills.