The document traces the evolution of GPS technology for military use from its origins in the 1960s as the Transit satellite navigation system used by the US Navy, through achieving Full Operational Capability in 1995, to ongoing modernization projects. It describes how GPS is used by soldiers to navigate unfamiliar terrain, by military commanders to coordinate troop movements, by weapons systems to target potential ground and air threats, and to guide precision munitions, missiles, and artillery. GPS satellites also carry sensors to detect nuclear detonations as part of the US Nuclear Detonation Detection System.

2. Evolution of military GPS
• 1960. The first satellite navigation system, Transit, used by the United
States Navy.
• 1973. Creation of a Defense Navigation Satellite System (DNSS).
• 1985 - 1989. Launching modern Block specialized satellites.
• 1990 - 1991. The Gulf War - the first conflict in which the military widely
used GPS.
• 1995. Full Operational Capability (FOC) was declared by Air Force Space
Command(AFSPC), signifying full availability of the military's secure Precise
Positioning Service (PPS)
• 2010. he U.S. Air Force awarded the contract to develop the GPS Next
Generation Operational Control System (OCX)

3. Examples of use
Soldiers use GPS to find objectives, even in the dark or in
unfamiliar territory, and to coordinate troop and supply
movement. In the United States armed forces, commanders use
the Commanders Digital Assistant and lower ranks use
the Soldier Digital Assistant.

4. Various military weapons
systems use GPS to track
potential ground and air targets
before flagging them as
hostile. These weapon
systems pass target
coordinates to precision-guided
munitions to allow them to
engage targets accurately.
Military aircraft, particularly
in air-to-ground roles, use GPS
to find targets.

5. GPS allows accurate targeting of
various military weapons
including ICBMs, cruise
missiles, precision-guided
munitions and Artillery projectiles.
Embedded GPS receivers able to
withstand accelerations of 12,000 g or
about 118 km/s2 have been developed
for use in 155-millimeter
(6.1 in) howitzers.

6. GPS satellites carry a set of nuclear
detonation detectors consisting of an optical
sensor (Y-sensor), an X-ray sensor, a
dosimeter, and an electromagnetic pulse
(EMP) sensor (W-sensor), that form a major
portion of the United States Nuclear
Detonation Detection System.