It was invented out of a desire to ensure we dont have to rely on a US service which can be switched off at a moments notice. Nothing more. It's technological independance.

You're right - we dont NEED Galileo - what we need is a reliable sat-nav service. GPS can be switched off or degraded by the US military and thus is not enough.

The anti-galileo feeling I'm reading in this place is simply driven by the fact that Galileo offers independance from a US system. It eliminates the ability for the US to control it. Galileo is not an anti-american issue at all, it is just a means to ensure that we have independance.

You know what though - you might have something on the GWB point. From a European perspective, he is a man with a reputation for making questionable military decisions. Perhaps that turned the political opinion on this side of the pond from 'It would be nice to have...." to "It's something we SHOULD have". Frankly I can understand and agree with that point of view. The situation that the US has put itself in at the moment does put a large question mark of the future availability of the GPS service. I can easily forsee degredation or removal of the GPS service for Civil users. The use of Sat Nav for mission critical civil purposes can not happen in this sort of situation.

Flip the coin for a moment. Imagine GPS is a European asset. Imagine it has been built by Astrium, launched on Ariane 4's and controlled from Brussels. Imagine a European force had invaided Iraq whilst the US thought that was a really stupid idea - can't very well rely on those idiots on the other side of the pond to look after Sat Nav for you - not a great idea to be so dependant on those foreigners..... Would you have a problem with the US deploying its own Sat Nav service? Hell no - you'd have been demanding it for years.

Doug