AIN was informed that the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security were expected to announce jointly late last month that the U.S. loran transmitter network will continue in operation. How long the system will remain in service is uncertain, but observers believe it could be 10 years, and possibly longer. An independent panel of experts– chaired by “father of GPS” Dr. Brad Parkinson–unanimously endorsed keeping the system operational. The expert panel concluded that loran is a necessary backup to GPS for critical applications in aviation and as a precision timing source. In addition, respondents to a Coast Guard-sponsored public survey about the future need for the system generally commented that the system should remain intact.