There is a copy of the book “The American Practical Navigator” by Nathaniel Bowditch, first published in 1802 on each of the US Navy ships.

This is considered an encyclopedia about navigation, filled with data on the longitude and latitude of many places, from Bugio lighthouse in Lisbon, Portugal, to Kannonzaki lighthouse in Yokosuka, Japan.

The book provides detailed instructions on how to use a hexagonal glass to measure a ship’s current position by observing the Sun, Moon, stars, and horizon. However, the presence of this book on board is only a ritual, as the US Navy has long been accustomed to using electronic charts based on GPS, Nikkei Asia said.

But the threat of electronic warfare from rivals like China, forcing the US Navy to consider the possibility of reusing the supposedly outdated navigation system, in preparation for the GPS system scenario prepares the enemy. disable.

Combining ancient and modern

In August 2020, the USS Patriot, an Avenger-class minesweeper of the US Navy stationed at the port of Sasebo, Japan, crossed a distance of 1,700 km into the western seas solely by astronomical positioning.

A pilot is using the hexagonal glass to calculate the ship’s position in the Pacific. Photo: US Navy.

Every afternoon, sailors would take a hexagonal glass, a centuries-old measuring instrument, to measure the angle of the Sun at its highest point in the day. The data will be fed into a computer program called the astronomical estimation system of latitude and longitude, also known as STELIA.

Sailors also observed the angular distances between the horizon and the Moon, the planets and the stars to calculate longitude and latitude. On the command tower, a navigation team consisting of the captain, subordinate officer and the pilot uses manual measurement data to control the ship.

Astronomical navigation has disappeared from the US Naval Academy curriculum since 2006, because it was deemed obsolete. But since 2015, the technique has been reintroduced into the program, to teach students how to measure and apply math to locate.

The re-teaching of astronomical navigation has been prompted by the acknowledgment that the US armed forces are increasingly dependent on digital systems. An attack on the GPS system that the US military is relying on, could limit the capabilities of the world’s most powerful military.

This concern becomes even more urgent as China invests heavily in electronic warfare and cyberspace.

Peter Singer, an expert at the Center for New Security of America, said the battle to kick off the next big war will take place in silence. In other words, it’s the war in cyberspace.

If digital communication was to be attacked, the US Navy would have to rely on the natural world, ears and eyes to survive, which is the reason for the return of the hexagonal glasses.

Learn how to position birds

Mr. Singer said that in addition to the astronomical navigation system dating back to the 18th century, the US should study another smarter navigation system for navigating ships, or guided missiles without relying on GPS. , similar to how birds migrate annually.

One sailor is working on calculating longitude and latitude based on Bowditch’s book. Photo: US Navy.

“The way they (the birds) move is not memorizing, it’s how they perceive Earth’s magnetic field. Some insects can do this too, so in-depth research is needed to develop a digital version of how birds move, ”says Singer.

The U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) is pursuing the Adaptive Navigation System project, a navigation technique that can work in buildings, under dense canopy, under water and ground. This system is said to be superior to GPS.

In February, a team of scientists released a report stating that birds may have global GPS systems.

“The precise navigation of these little birds is amazing, as they move alone across the sea, across the vast desert and through extreme weather conditions is one of the long-standing mysteries. behavioral biology “, a British scientist wrote on the World Economic Forum.

This may be the answer the US military is looking for in its defense mission against electronic warfare operations by China and other adversaries.

Billy Fabian, senior analyst at data analytics firm Govini, said preparing for the scenario of digital communication disruption is crucial, given the potential confrontation with China.

The starry sky illuminated the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan as it passed through the Luzon Strait. Photo: US Navy

Specifically, at noon, sailors will take a hexagonal glass – a positioning tool that has existed for centuries – to measure the angle of the Sun at its highest point in the day. The data will be fed into a computer program called the Astronomical Latitude and Longitude Estimation System, or STELLA. They also observed the angular distances between the horizon and the Moon, the planets and the stars to calculate latitude and longitude.

On the jetty, a crew consisting of the captain, subordinate officers and the pilot used the above data to control the ship night and day.

The return of astronomical navigation

The Nikkei Asia Financial Times reported that astronomical navigation, or space travel navigation, disappeared from the US Naval Academy curriculum in 2006 because it was deemed obsolete. But in 2015, the school reintroduced this technique as well as sent students to a planetarium to teach how to measure and apply mathematics.

An officer on board the guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay uses a positioning device to measure the ship’s position in the Pacific. Photo: US Navy

The return to this method of positioning was prompted by the realization that if the US armed forces increasingly relied on digital communications, a blow to the Global Positioning System. (GPS) – on which this communications system relies on – could make it difficult for the army considered to be the most powerful in the world. That concern is growing in the face of China’s increased electronic and cyber-warfare capabilities.

Peter Singer, strategist at consulting firm New America and author of “Ghost Fleet: A Novel of Next World War” (roughly translated: Ghost Fleet: Novel of the Next World War) commented: “Battle The opening battle of the next great war will take place in silence ”.

According to him, this battle will not be the same as the battle of Pearl Harbor that dragged the United States into the war with Japan in 1941, nor the horrifying battle that opened to the Iraq War in 2003. “It may even have been and is already happening.” Because, in cyberspace, enemy moves still happen weeks, months or years before the outbreak of war.

If digital communications were to be removed, the US Navy would return to the natural world, relying on eyes and ears to survive. Therefore, a return of the hexagonal glass is imperative. But the strategist Singer believes that there are still two other options than this 18th-century utensil.

One is to build a more flexible communications network and improve network security to help the military combat any GPS-related challenges. Second is the development of highly intelligent systems that do not require GPS.

“For example, there is research showing that rockets can fly by navigating against a magnetic field,” says Singer. He equates this with the ability of birds to migrate as they travel thousands of kilometers to reach almost exactly one destination every year.

Answering Nikkei Asia, he explained: “It is not because they remember the way. That’s how they perceive the Earth’s magnetic field. The same goes for insects. So there has been high-tech research on developing digital versions of the way birds and insects navigate.

“Learn” from birds

The Department of Defense Senior Research Projects Administration (DARPA) is pursuing the so-called Adaptive Navigation System. This GPS-equivalent method of positioning, navigation, and time will work even in poorly wave places such as inside buildings, in canyons, in dense woods, underwater and underground. .

In February, a group of scientists including Professor Richard Holland at Bangor University and professor Dmitry Kishkinev at Keele University published a report indicating that birds can possess a “global GPS system. “.

Scientists believe that birds possess a global “GPS system”. Photo: Reuters

“The amazingly precise navigation of these little birds – as they travel alone over stormy seas, across vast deserts, and through extreme weather and temperature extremes – has been one of the the enduring mysteries of biology, ”wrote British scientists for the World Economic Forum.

“An evidence-gathering agency has shown that the Earth’s magnetic field is one of the most likely theories for this mystery. It is thought that the different parameters of the Earth’s magnetic field could form a network of maps that birds will fly with, ”they said.

“If birds know that magnetic field strength increases as they go north, they will be able to detect their position on the North-South axis wherever they go,” the report said. said the report. This means that the birds are essentially navigating using a system similar to Cartesian coordinates – the basis of modern GPS navigation.

Nikkei Asia asked Holland if anything from bird navigation could be used in the military. “In theory, the Earth’s magnetic field could be used as a positioning system,” he said. However, he warned: “It is not clear whether this system can be used on a global scale as GPS could, since there are several locations on Earth that share the same characteristics. magnetism”.

However, this could be the answer the US military is looking for in its mission to protect against electronic warfare by China or other countries.

Billy Fabian, an expert at data and analysis firm Govini and a senior colleague at the Center for New American Security, says it’s important to prepare for the scenario where communications are disrupted. when considering the nature of a potential war with China.

“A future conflict between the US and China will be different from past conflicts in two respects,” he said. One, every sector will be highly competitive, and that’s different from what we’re used to. Second, we will be under enormous time pressure. Most of the places that you can imagine we will fight in the future are in the backyard of China, but one ocean away from the American continent.

The US military is also practicing the concept called “mission command”. Accordingly, the commanders at the front lines are empowered to plan, coordinate and execute decisions without having to ask for instructions from their superiors. In this way, small units can continue to operate even when communication is interrupted.