"Mike Williams" wrote in message
...
Wasn't it pervect who wrote:
On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 03:22:52 +0000, ess (phil
hunt) wrote:

What would be sensible strategies/weapons for a middle-ranking
country to employ if it thought it is likely to be involved in a war
against the USA or other Western countries, say in the next 10
years?

I think one strategy would be to use large numbers of low cost
cruise missiles (LCCM). The elements of a cruise missile are all
very simple, mature technology, except for the guidance system.
Modern computers are small and cheap, so guidance systems can be
made cheaply.

How are you getting your position information?

The cheap solution is to use GPS. But IIRC the US has complete
control over the GPS satellite system. So if you are at war with the
US, you can't count on your GPS working right.

The last I heard, the projected date for the launch of the Galileo
Next
Generation Global Navigation Satellite System was some time in 2005,
so
after that date there could be an alternative to the American GPS.
However, anyone who's at war with the US is likely to be also disliked
by the Europeans behind Galileo, and might find that they can't get
good
readings from either system.

Also, since it's not encrypted, it can be spoofed using a local
transmitter -- and that spoofing won't affect the American GPS system at
all.


Ray Drouillard