If GPS were to be widely adopted for civilian navigation, planes could fly much closer together. Small airports would have the same guidance capabilities as larger airports since GPS navigation does not depend on ground-based equipment. But, according to the Times , civilian GPS satellites are vulnerable to jamming. Civilian GPS satellites emit a signal that is much weaker and less spread out than military GPS satellites. Civilian GPS navigation systems have already been accidently jammed several times.
Military commanders can also send two or three cruise missiles to destroy a target.
It appears that no one in civil aviation in the United States knows the effect a concerted jamming effort would have upon civil aviation. Civil aviation authorities are planning tests of military jamming capabilities versus civilian GPS but U.S. military and intelligence agencies are not being cooperative. The article was written by Matthew Wald and appeared on page C1. The rules were a top priority for President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton but met strenuous objections from many drug companies, which said the new rules are impractial and burdensome. The White House replied that drug companies have rarely conducted studies to assess the safety and proper dosage of drugs widely used to treat childhood illnesses.