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.