Photo courtesy of Beijing Satellite Navigation Center.
Is the rise of BeiDou the biggest threat to global U.S. satellite navigation interests?
China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system (BDS) has received about $1.78 billion for new projects to compete with its main rival, the U.S.-based Global Positioning System.
According to South China Morning Post, the huge financial windfall came at the Third International Summit on BDS on the 30th anniversary of the system. These funds include nearly $1.1 billion to adopt the Chinese satnav system for industrial and consumer use, according to a state-run Hunan Daily. Another earmark for the funding goes to an Indonesian disaster prevention agency for an early warning system.
At the same time, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it has chosen 39 pilot cities for large-scale BeiDou applications. According to published reports, the government has chosen the cities, but requires each to increase the BDS usage rate as it heads into a third-generation system.
Latest BeiDou satellites launched in September (China Central Television).
GPS is losing its dominance, some say, as BeiDou is increasingly available in Africa and Southeast Asia. As more countries adopt the Chinese system, rather than GPS as a main GNSS component, it grows in prominence over the U.S. system.
“Satnav and overall PNT are tools and weapons in every facet of great power competition. China certainly understands this—and many in the U.S., including the President’s Advisory Board, also understand it, said Dana Goward, Resilient Navigation & Timing Foundation president. “Unfortunately, the few senior leaders in government who are in a position to do something don’t seem to understand it—or are unwilling to give the issue the time and attention it deserves.”
The Chinese government has said publicly that its output for not only its satellite navigation system, but total location services industry, totaled $74.5 billion. The report said that BDS-equipped electronics numbered 27 million, according to China Daily.
With China’s successful launch of two new satellites in September, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System now has 50 satellites in active service. The newly launched satellites, part of a third-generation model, were the second batch launched into medium-Earth orbit since the system was declared operational in July 2020 by the Chinese government. A total of 64 satellites have been launched.
 has received about $1.78 billion for new projects to compete with its main rival, the U.S.-based Global Positioning System. ){kind=link}