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GEN-94-ASAM-07, 26 April 1994:
Title: Use of Global Positioning System (GPS).
Summary:
A. To ensure the widest possible dissemination, the following is a retransmission of DIRUSAASA Message, DTG 151156Z Apr 94, Subject: U.S. Army Aviation Use of Global Positioning System.
B. On 8 Dec 93, SECDEF announced to DOT that GPS had achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) as defined in the 1992 Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP). On 28 Apr 94 Phase Three of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implementation program will commence with the publication of approximately 300 instrument approach procedures (IAPs) indicating "OR GPS". Thereafter, an additional 600 "OR GPS" Civil IAPs will be added to National Ocean Survey (NOS) Flight Information Publications (FLIP) products each 56 day cycle until approximately 3,900 IAPs have been published (many of these civil IAPS also will appear in DOD FLIP). This program exists only in the United States National Airspace system (NAS). So far, other than the U.S. and FIJI, no other nations have established standards for, nor approved the use of GPS for any aeronautical purpose. Therefore, outside of the NAS, the use of GPS as a sole or primary means of navigation in civil airspace is not authorized, not even for VFR flights. We will advise you as other nations adopt the use of GPS within their airspace.
C. Presently there are no known DOD/U.S. Army GPS systems designed or configured to meet the equivalent levels of Federal Aviation Administration TSO-C129 Safety and Performance Standards required to fly Enroute, Terminal or Non-precision Approaches under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). Accordingly, until the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM) can certify a GPS system for IFR operations, U.S. Army use of GPS to fly IFR or to participate in the FAA's Civil GPS overlay program is not authorized. GPS also may not be used to fly IAPs designed for other area navigation systems such as VOR/DME-BASED or LORAN-C RNAV Procedures.
D. U.S. Army installations within the NAS desiring to
establish GPS overlay procedures for their airfields should provide justification and submit requests to the U.S. Army Aeronautical Services Agency (USAASA) IAW AR 95-2, Chapter
11. Due to a FAA Procedures Development backlog, we expect the process to be lengthy. However, validated requests will be prioritized and submitted to the Defense Mapping Agency
for publication as production cycles permit. For the near-term, we do not expect to develop any pure GPS RNAV IAPS IAW FAA Oorder 8260.38. Neither DOD nor the U.S. Army have established a requirement to acquire Avionics capable of executing pure, GPS-ONLY Instrument Approach Procedures.
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