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ГЛОНАСС (GLONASS) Russian GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), is a space-based Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces. It is the Russian version of America’s military GPS and is currently the only alternative navigational system in operation capable of global coverage. GLONASS first become operational in 1982 and achieved global coverage in 2011. During the first reign of Vladimir Putin, GLONASS became the first priority of the Russian Federal Space Agency, consuming nearly one third of the Agency budget. It was, after all, imperative to duplicate the accuracy of America’s GPS system. State Department In 2013,...

The CIA and Pentagon have been trying to halt a State Department plan to let Russia’s space agency (Roscosmos) construct within the United States a handful of monitor stations, according to American officials, the New York Times reported. The fear is that the stations could aid Russian efforts to spy on the U.S. and bolster the accuracy of Russian weaponry, the officials told the Times, adding that the Russians said the monitor stations would dramatically improve their version of the Global Positioning System. The CIA and other U.S. spy agencies, along with the Pentagon, believe the monitor stations would provide...