Report: GPS Glitch Crippled Scores of Military Devices

(June 1) -- A software glitch knocked out some 10,000 of the military's GPS receivers earlier this year, according to a new report by The Associated Press. Coming just days after the Air Force launched its first satellite as part of an upgraded GPS constellation, the report raises new questions about the military's growing reliance on the popular space-based navigation system.

The problems were tied to new software installed Jan. 11 on thousands of new receivers. The software, which was provided by a California company, had not been tested before installation, the Air Force told AP.

A temporary fix was installed within a couple of weeks, the Air Force said.

The extent of the problem or its impact on specific military systems is still unclear, however. The Navy confirmed that its developmental carrier-based drone, the X-47B, was affected by the GPS glitch, but did not provide any specifics.

Northrop Grumman / U.S. Navy

A software glitch knocked out thousands of military GPS units earlier this year. The X-47B drone, shown here, was among the systems affected by the problem.

On May 28, the Air Force launched the first GPS Block 2F series satellite of what will be a 12-satellite constellation. Among other improvements, the new satellites have a more accurate atomic clock and are designed to better resist jamming.

According to AP, the software that caused the receivers to stop working in January had been specifically designed for the new satellites.

Development on GPS began in the 1970s as a military project, but its use has since extended to civilian applications. Today, GPS is used by the military for everything from navigation to guiding bombs, raising concerns that an attack could severely affect its systems.

"Since GPS's inception, there has never been a breach of GPS," Joe Davidson, a spokesman for the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, told AP.