LORAN-C
GENERAL INFORMATION
LORAN-C was originally developed to provide radionavigation
service for U.S. coastal waters & was later expanded to
include complete coverage of the continental U.S. as well as
most of Alaska. Twenty-four U.S. LORAN-C stations work in partnership
with Canadian and Russian stations to provide coverage in Canadian
waters and in the Bering Sea. LORAN-C provides better than 0.25
nautical mile absolute accuracy for suitably equipped users
within the published areas.
Advances in technology have allowed greater automation of
LORAN-C operations. New technology has allowed the Coast Guard
to establish centralized control of the continental U.S. LORAN-C
system at two locations. The application of new receiver technology
has improved the usability of the system. You may read about
modernization efforts on our LORAN
Modernization page. You may also read the USCG
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the
Future of the United States Coast Guard Long Range Aids to
Navigation (LORAN–C) Program. The Appendices may be downloaded
from our LORAN-C Reference Page.
The Operating Status of LORAN-C
LORAN-C
provides coverage for maritime navigation in U.S. coastal
areas. It provides navigation, location, and timing services
for both civil and military air, land and marine users. LORAN-C
is approved as an en route supplemental air navigation system
for both Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) and Visual Flight Rule
(VFR) operations. The LORAN-C system serves the 48 continental
states, their coastal areas, and parts of Alaska.
On February 26, 2009, the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) publicly announced the President's Fiscal Year 2010
Budget. In the section for the Department of Homeland Security,
the budget "supports the termination of outdated systems such
as the terrestrial-based, long-range radionavigation (LOrAN-C)
operated by the U.S. Coast Guard resulting in an offset of
$36 million in 2010 and $190 million over five years." For
more information on the proposed FY2010 Budget, visit the
OMB website under President's
Budget.
The Coast Guard will continue to operate the current Loran
C system through the end of FY2009 and is preparing detailed
plans for implementing the FY2010 Budget.
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