Iran Disables GPS, Joins China’s Beidou — The End of U.S. Satellite Domi...

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#Beidou #ChinaTech #Geopolitics

Iran has just shut off GPS across its territory — and switched to China’s Beidou satellite system. Why now? What does it mean for U.S. dominance in space-based navigation and warfare? In this episode of GVS Deep Dive, Najma Minhas unpacks Iran’s bold strategic pivot — and why it may mark the beginning of the end for America’s global GPS monopoly. From WhatsApp tracking scandals and drone warfare to China’s high-precision Beidou system and Belt & Road integration, this decision carries major military and geopolitical consequences.
TRANSCRIPT

in this era of satellites and mega

0:11

constellations the Chinese space program

0:14

has been making impressive strides

0:17

they've never played by the rules they

0:19

don't see us as a competitor they see us

0:20

as an enemy are the American systems not

0:24

visible because the US constellation is

0:26

smaller than Beos

0:28

[Music]

0:30

welcome to GBS Deep Dive i'm Nam Minhas

0:33

and today we're breaking down a quiet

0:36

but powerful shift that could reshape

0:38

the future of global navigation systems

0:41

and how it impacts wars going forward

0:44

now in the midst of the Israeli Iran war

0:46

last week a decision was made by the

0:48

Iranian leadership which was missed by

0:51

many people iran made a strategic move

0:54

in which it disabled the GPS across its

0:58

territory and formally adopted China's

1:00

Beu satellite navigation system now it

1:03

wasn't a tech upgrade it was a clear

1:07

geopolitical statement and it's a

1:09

decision that's expected to serve it

1:11

well in the future as well especially

1:14

given that it's believed that the

1:16

ceasefire has only been agreed by Israel

1:18

to let it consolidate itself before

1:21

starting the next offense for decades

1:23

the GPS which was built and controlled

1:25

by the United States military has been

1:28

the backbone of satellite navigation

1:31

technology for global positioning

1:33

navigation and timing but for countries

1:35

like Iran long at odds with Washington

1:39

relying on United States infrastructure

1:42

comes with real risks from the threat of

1:45

service blackouts to surveillance and

1:48

cyber vulnerabilities

1:50

so why now several reasons likely pushed

1:53

Iran towards this decisive shift first

1:56

with the rising threats of cyber warfare

1:58

and electronic jamming especially during

2:01

a period of heightened tensions with

2:03

Israel and the United States Iran could

2:06

no longer afford to rely on a system its

2:09

adversaries can disrupt second China's

2:12

BEu offers not only technical

2:14

superiority in some domains but also

2:17

geostrategic alignment beijing and Thran

2:20

are deepening ties across trade energy

2:23

and defense third this is part of a

2:27

larger Iranian strategy to break

2:29

dependence on Western dominated systems

2:32

whether it's Swift the internet or

2:35

satellite networks but there is a key

2:38

reason this move came now a scandal

2:41

which brewed inside Iran's war rooms

2:44

iranian state media claimed that

2:46

WhatsApp and Instagram had leaked the

2:49

realtime locations of senior Iranian

2:52

officials to foreign powers particularly

2:55

Israel and the United States these apps

2:58

they alleged broadcasted location data

3:01

whenever phones were connected to the

3:03

internet a digital breadcrumb trail for

3:06

hostile drones and missiles while Meta

3:09

the parent company of WhatsApp and

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Instagram owned by Mark Zuckerberg has

3:14

denied these allegations insisting it

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doesn't collect or share precise

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location data and uses end-to-end

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encryption cyber security analysts say

3:24

that the risk isn't in the message

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content it's in the meta data in the

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timestamps communication frequency and

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even approximate GPS data can be

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exploited especially if spyware is

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involved in response Iran urged it

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citizens across the country 90 million

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people to delete WhatsApp and Instagram

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altogether calling them tools of

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espionage now this isn't just about

3:50

paranoia some of Iran's most

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high-profile military assassinations

3:55

including those that happened during

3:57

this current conflict are now being

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traced back to potential leaks from

4:02

digital communications country went on

4:04

to lock down its internet for the same

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reason reports show that during June

4:08

2025 war escalation the government

4:11

blocked internet access by over 97%

4:15

including social and messaging apps

4:18

despite WhatsApp's statement the company

4:20

has recently got another shock as a

4:22

couple of days ago the United States

4:25

House of Representatives also banned

4:28

WhatsApp on all its members devices the

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notice to all house staff said that the

4:34

office of cyber security has deemed

4:36

WhatsApp a high risk to users due to the

4:39

lack of transparency in how it protects

4:42

user data absence of stored data

4:44

encryption and potential security risks

4:47

involved with its use this goes far

4:50

beyond digital surveillance what you're

4:52

about to hear is how GPS became one of

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the most powerful tools in US hands and

4:58

why China decided to quietly challenge

5:01

that supremacy in space bo isn't just a

5:04

replacement it's a serious competitor to

5:07

the GPS in the current environment the

5:10

geopolitics of which is encouraging a

5:12

full divergence in technology systems

5:15

between China Russia potentially some of

5:18

the BRICS nations or the global south

5:21

and the west with a full constellation

5:24

of global satellites is delivering high

5:27

accurate positioning robust anti-jamming

5:30

protections and even a unique short

5:33

message communication feature now that

5:35

last one is particularly important

5:38

especially in areas where traditional

5:40

networks fail think of war zones remote

5:43

areas or natural disasters on the

5:45

technological front Iran gets access to

5:48

precise navigation for civilian

5:50

industries from trucking and farming to

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telecom strategically this is about

5:56

sovereignty iran is signaling that it

5:59

will no longer be vulnerable to American

6:01

control over its critical infrastructure

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and on a global scale Beu is gaining

6:06

momentum iran's move shows how China's

6:09

system is not just a backup it's

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becoming a first choice alternative for

6:15

countries who are seeking political

6:17

independence please stay with me to the

6:20

end to understand how GPS became our

6:23

indispensable daily tool most of us

6:26

would now be redundant without it are

6:28

map reading skills even taught in

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schools any longer why the Chinese

6:33

realize that the power that controls

6:35

space controls the battlefield how

6:38

China's BEu stands relative to to the

6:42

United States GPS and finally how China

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will silently end up helping Iran in any

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future war

6:51

to truly understand this shift we need

6:53

to go back to how GPS became such a

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dominant force it all started in the

6:58

Cold War when the Soviets launched the

7:00

Sputnik in 1957

7:03

united States scientists discovered they

7:05

could track its radio signal from the

7:07

ground using the Doppler effect and that

7:10

led to the United States Navy building

7:12

transit the first satellite navigation

7:15

system for submarines in the 1960s by

7:19

1973 the United States Department of

7:22

Defense launched Navstar GPS a unified

7:25

military control system designed for

7:27

global coverage it used 24 satellites in

7:30

orbit control from ground stations and

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offer 24x7 positioning navigation and

7:37

timing

7:38

in 1983 after the Korean Airflight07

7:42

was shot down near Soviet airspace

7:45

President Ronald Reagan announced a GPS

7:47

would be available to civilians but with

7:50

a signal degragation so that it would

7:53

not be as precise for civilians as it

7:55

was for the military now this was done

7:57

for security reasons obviously it wasn't

8:00

until 1995 that GPS reached full global

8:04

functionality

8:05

but in 2000 President Clinton ended

8:09

signal degradation he unlocked high

8:12

precision for civilian access this was a

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turning point that fueled everything

8:18

from smartphones and Uber to precision

8:21

agriculture and warfare now that's when

8:24

everyday life started to change for all

8:26

of us by the late 2000s people

8:28

everywhere from Europe to Asia were

8:31

relying on United States satellites no

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more printing Map Quest directions i

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don't know how many of you remember

8:39

doing that or wrestling with folded maps

8:41

in the car for those of you who remember

8:44

driving and the fights in the car you

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missed that turn go back why didn't you

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tell me I had to turn over there gps has

8:52

probably saved a lot of relationships by

8:54

the late 2000s with smartphones in our

8:57

pockets GPS became personal gps didn't

9:00

just reshape warfare it reshaped how we

9:03

live our lives how we move how we

9:06

communicate

9:07

however it quietly also gave the United

9:10

States an invisible hand in our daily

9:13

lives the lives of billions of people

9:16

around the world but behind that

9:17

convenience was a deeper dependency

9:20

whether you were delivering rice in

9:22

Pakistan or guiding a ship in the South

9:25

China Sea you were using a system that

9:28

the United States could turn off at any

9:30

time it drove trillions of dollars of

9:33

activity worldwide one 2024 study has

9:36

estimated that one day outage of the GPS

9:40

system would cost the United States

9:42

alone $1.6 billion per day today the GPS

9:47

is run by the United States Space Force

9:49

and it's in the third generation GPS 3

9:53

so it features stronger encryption and

9:55

better jamming resistance but remember

9:57

it's still under the United States

10:00

military control in a conflict access

10:03

can be cut while GPS was once the

10:05

undisputed king of satnav and a key

10:08

instrument of American soft power it now

10:12

has a growing list of global navigation

10:15

satellite system competitors from

10:17

China's BU to the European Union's

10:20

Galileo Russia's GLONAS and even India's

10:23

regional system the NAV IC however

10:26

without question the most significant

10:29

rivalry comes from China

10:33

china learned that lesson early after

10:35

watching United States forces dominate

10:37

the Gulf War in 1991 with GPSG guided

10:42

strikes chinese military leaders

10:44

concluded that they needed their own

10:46

system but the 1996 Taiwan straight

10:50

crisis is widely regarded as that key

10:53

triggering event that pushed China to

10:56

begin developing its own satellite

10:58

navigation system what would eventually

11:00

become in 1996 in response to the

11:04

pro-independence moves and the first

11:06

democratic elections in Taiwan China

11:09

conducted a series of missile tests near

11:12

Taiwanese ports the US reacted by

11:15

deploying two aircraft carrier strike

11:17

groups to the Taiwan Straits it was a

11:21

clear signal to Beijing back down during

11:23

that standoff China realized that its

11:25

military was blind compared to US forces

11:28

which used GPS to coordinate naval and

11:32

air assets with precision it also

11:35

realized that it relied entirely on the

11:38

GPS which the United States could cut

11:41

off or degrade at any moment in 1997

11:45

formal approval was granted to begin the

11:48

Bato program bedo 1 was launched in 2000

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with just three satellites and some

11:54

small regional coverage bedo 2 followed

11:57

in 2012 expanding its services across

12:00

the Asia-Pacific

12:02

but it was Bato 3 which was completed in

12:05

2020 that gave China full global

12:09

satellite navigation capability now this

12:12

system now has over 30 satellites and

12:15

rivals GPS in many areas of the world

12:19

overall Bato now has around 45 to 50

12:23

operational satellites as compared to

12:25

the United States GPS which has 31 now

12:29

what further enhances Beu's power the

12:31

Chinese have many more ground stations

12:34

than GPS this is what helps to amplify

12:37

and strengthen the signal even more be

12:41

civilian service offers a much better

12:43

positioning accuracy of around 1 meter

12:46

in many parts of Asia and China as well

12:49

as parts of Africa while GPS typically

12:52

in those areas provides accuracy within

12:54

3 to 5 meters while globally BEu is said

12:58

to have around 2.5 to 5 m which is

13:01

similar to that of the GPS although some

13:04

reports suggest that it outdoes GPS

13:07

accuracy in over 165 countries in simple

13:12

terms have you tried sending someone

13:13

your current location what pops up and

13:16

tells you how close in meters it gets to

13:18

where you are now if you see mine on the

13:21

screen when I was doing this I made all

13:23

the areas black for you know security

13:25

reasons but you can see that the GPS in

13:28

my area where I was at that point gets

13:30

as close as 5 m accuracy to where I was

13:34

sitting at that time now most phones

13:37

support all global navigation systems

13:39

out there but generally what phones will

13:41

do is they'll tap into any of the

13:44

satellites that is closest to it and is

13:46

giving it the best signal but this isn't

13:49

just about satellite counts it's about

13:51

who controls the infrastructure of war

13:54

trade and everyday life and what happens

13:56

when that control quietly shifts for

13:59

military applications it is said that

14:01

BEu can achieve centimeter level

14:04

accuracy and it offers encrypted

14:06

military channels as well as that that

14:08

short uh message function that lets

14:11

users send text or location data without

14:14

cell coverage now that is critical for

14:16

emergencies as well as battlefield

14:19

scenarios that is a unique strategic

14:22

capability something that GPS still does

14:25

not offer beu now powers over 1.5

14:29

billion users worldwide daily from

14:32

smartphones and smart cities in China

14:35

and Pakistan to logistic hubs in Africa

14:39

it's being used over the 140 countries

14:42

especially those under the Barri program

14:45

bato is quietly becoming the backbone of

14:47

the new tech ecosystem it's a central

14:50

pillar in China's belt and road

14:52

initiative linking infrastructure with

14:54

digital sovereignty over 30 countries in

14:57

Africa are using it for precision

15:00

agriculture which has helped those

15:02

countries to boost their yields by over

15:04

15% and in war Beu gives China and its

15:08

allies like Iran a GPS independent

15:11

strike and defense capability within

15:14

seconds precision so when Iran shuts off

15:17

GPS and turns on Beu it's not just a

15:20

software update it's a geopolitical

15:23

realignment if BEu keeps rising we may

15:28

be watching the decline of the America's

15:31

uncontested digital empire gps is

15:34

lagging in updates as per the United

15:35

States own space force department the US

15:38

is currently replacing its 1990s era GPS

15:42

satellites with newer GPS3 satellites

15:46

however those GPS3 are still not

15:49

trailblazing technology they were

15:51

originally intended to launch in 2014

15:55

now these satellites offer only a

15:57

moderate improvement to the last GPS

15:59

version they just give a little bit of

16:01

an upgraded accuracy going from 3 m down

16:04

to 1 m this is less than what Galileo

16:08

can already provide gps will eventually

16:12

is expected to be followed by what is

16:13

called GPS 3F now that's expected to

16:17

provide additional capabilities such as

16:20

that first completely digital navigation

16:22

payload however this GPS 3F is not

16:27

expected to take place until the mid

16:29

2030s

16:30

by 2035 China's aiming to make Beu the

16:35

world's go-to system now that's not

16:36

without its own issues unlike for

16:38

example the European strict GDPR laws

16:43

for data provision China doesn't have

16:46

any such thing

16:48

now coming back to Iran China's BEu

16:51

satellite navigation system offers Iran

16:54

a strategic upgrade at a time when the

16:57

western controlled infrastructure is

16:58

both a security threat and a

17:00

geopolitical liability for the country

17:03

by shifting to Beu Iran gains access to

17:07

a secure independent navigation network

17:10

that cannot be degraded or cut off by

17:13

the United States unlike the GPS system

17:17

now this has immediate military

17:18

implications as you can imagine Iranian

17:20

drones missiles and air defense systems

17:23

can now operate with enhanced precision

17:27

using BEu's encrypted coordinates the

17:30

systems advanced anti-jamming

17:32

capabilities and even that unique short

17:34

message function which allows limited

17:36

text communications without cellular

17:39

network means that Iran on the

17:42

battlefield gets much better resilience

17:45

especially in the event of any cyber

17:47

attacks or electronic warfare being used

17:50

in a future conflict with Israel or

17:52

during a regional escalation in the Gulf

17:54

these features could provide decisive

17:56

allowing Iranian forces to coordinate

17:59

navigate and strike targets without

18:02

relying on vulnerable United States

18:04

linked systems

18:06

beyond the battlefield Bo also

18:08

strengthens Iran's civilian logistics

18:10

and economic survival under the

18:12

sanctions iranian oil tankers cargo

18:15

fleets and overland trade convoys they

18:18

can now navigate using BEu instead of

18:21

GPS which helps Thran to reduce its

18:24

exposure to western tracking and

18:26

surveillance especially through the

18:28

so-called dark fleet tactics that rely

18:31

on disabling transponders and avoiding

18:34

detection china's integration of BEu

18:37

into its belt and road infrastructure

18:39

also gives Iran a foothold in the

18:42

Eurasian trade corridors it deepens its

18:45

connectivity through Central Asia and

18:47

the Caspian region symbolically Iran's

18:50

adoption of BEu signals a technological

18:53

realignment a quiet but firm pivot away

18:57

from Western digital hedgemony and

18:59

towards a China alternative order where

19:03

sovereignty is maintained not only

19:05

through missiles and treaties but also

19:08

through satellite signals and code share

19:10

with me your thoughts do you think more

19:12

countries will follow Iran's lead and

19:15

ditch the GPS for Beu don't forget to

19:18

like subscribe and hit the bell to stay

19:19

informed thank you for giving me your

19:21

time today and have a great