Recent Military Use of GPS (1990–present).

The 1990–1991 crisis in the Persian
Gulf, the first major test24 of GPS in a combat situation, proved beyond a doubt
the importance and utility of the NAVSTAR. Some say that GPS revolutionized
combat operations on the ground and in the air during Operation Desert Storm
and was—as one Allied commander noted—one of two particular pieces of
equipment that were potential war winners (the other was night-vision devices).
25
Among the many uses of GPS in Operation Desert Storm, navigation proved to
be a crucial technique for desert warfare.26 GPS satellites enabled coalition
forces to navigate, maneuver, and fire with unprecedented accuracy in the vast
desert terrain almost 24 hours a day27 despite difficult conditions—frequent
sandstorms, few paved roads, no vegetative cover, and few natural landmarks.
Although on average, each U.S. Army maneuver company (e.g., tank, mechanized
infantry, or armored cavalry) had at least one GPS receiver, the demand
for receivers was so great that more than 10,000 commercial units were hastily
ordered during the crisis so that more coalition forces could benefit from the
system.

Other operations made possible or greatly enhanced by GPS include precisionbombing,
artillery fire support, the precise positioning of maneuvering troop
formations, and certain special forces operations such as combat search-andrescue
missions. As well as being carried by foot soldiers, GPS receivers were
attached, in some cases with tape, to vehicles and helicopter instrument panels
and were also used in F-16 fighters, KC-135 tankers, and B-52 bombers.

Since the Persian Gulf War, the United States has employed GPS in several
peacekeeping and military operations. During Operation Restore Hope in 1993,
GPS was used to air drop food and supplies to remote areas of Somalia because
of lack of accurate maps and ground-based navigation facilities. U.S. forces entering
Haiti in 1994 also relied on GPS. During the present Balkan crisis, GPS port planes at night to their drop zones where food and medicine is then
parachuted close to towns and villages.
has assisted in delivery of aid to the Bosnians by guiding U.S. Air Force transport planes at night to their drop zones where food and medicine is then
parachuted close to towns and villages.