VORs for Armageddon

Its the summer of 2020, and youre tooling along in your G10,000-equipped bugsmasher, dutifully tracking that magenta line direct to your destination because NextGen allows free flight RNAV-direct navigation. Weve come so far from the days of A/N ranges and dead reckoning.

Editorial Staff

Friday, August 01, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's interim solution for GPS navigation failure is the Minimum Operating Network (MON), which retains 497 strategically placed VORs to provide ground-based navigation backup, primarily above 5000 feet AGL.
MON enables aircraft to continue navigation either VOR-to-VOR or via DME/RNAV triangulation, guiding them to airports with non-GPS approaches, but requires pilots to maintain VOR flying skills.
A more robust, long-term solution, Alternate PNT (APNT), is under development to provide seamless GPS backup for positioning, navigation, and timing, with deployment expected around 2025.
Despite the high reliability of GPS, backup systems like MON and APNT are deemed essential due to potential vulnerabilities such as solar storms, highlighting the importance of traditional navigation proficiency.

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With everything going to GPS for navigation and position on ATC scopes, what happens if GPS fails? Fear not, the FAA has a plan. Don’t you feel better now?

It’s the summer of 2020, and you’re tooling along in your G10,000-equipped bugsmasher, dutifully tracking that magenta line direct to your destination because NextGen allows “free flight” RNAV-direct navigation. We’ve come so far from the days of A/N ranges and dead reckoning.