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Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Volume 31 Number 15, July 9, 1968

Omega Navigation System

Omega Navigation System

In view of the interest that "CANTA" newspaper has taken in the possibility of the establishment of an Omega navigation station in New Zealand I should like to draw its attention to two press statements I issued on this question on 24 and 26 June respectively.

There are perhaps one or two matters that I might deal with in more specific terms, although I cannot of course attempt to pick up all the points made in the length, though not always well informed, "special emergency edition" or other similar commentaries.

Information on the Omega navigation system is publicly available. It has been described in textbooks (for example "Radio Navigation Systems for Aviation and Maritime Use: A Comparative Study" edited by W. Bauss and published in 1963) and numerous articles in journals. The system is unclassified. It is not a communications system. It has no relationship to the station at North-West Cape in Australia. It is a navigation system designed to assist ships and aircraft anywhere in the world. It will be a most valuable improvement on existing, limited range navigation systems such as Loran and Decca. especially in the New Zealand area.

The Omega navigation system is not, however, a sophisticated system. It is not designed for use on nuclear ballistic missile submarines. A United States Polaris submarines. A United States Polaris submarine could, of course, use the system, as indeed could any vessel or aircraft, American, Soviet, Chinese Communist or other, that took the trouble to buy the readily available receivers. But Polaris submarines will not depend for their operational effectiveness upon the system. Moreover, the Omega system has no special advantages for military use.

Although some students, for instance those outside Parliament on 26 June, have referred to an "Omega base" the phrase is misleading. The system requires a large antenna, a transmitter and a helix. Operating staff—including maintenance staff—would probably be 8-12 people, only half of these technicans. Moreover, the system is designed in such a way that it can be operated by the host government and by civilian personnel. United States stations are operated by the United States Coast Guard, which is part of the Ministry of Transportation, not by the United Stales Navy or Department of Defence. Readers may have imagined a large United States military establishment; what is involved is a straightforward radio station that could be owned, operated and manned by New Zealand alone.

It is not correct to say that "without New Zealanders apparently being given any say in the matter the United Slates Navy has decided to build an Omega radio station in the Southern Alps". The actual position is quite different. I announced on 27 November last that a United Stales Navy team would explore the feasibility of establishing a station and survey possible sites. I described the system and said that the visit was entirely exploratory. New Zealand officials were fully associated with the survey team in its work. The survey team has completed its investigations but I do not know whether it has recommended to the United States Government that it seek our agreement to a site here Indeed our information was that a decision on this question was unlikely to be taken for some months. If the United States Government does approach us we shall consider the question. Until then, however. there is no question of a decision having been taken and therefore no question of a decision having been taken in secret negotiations. When interest in the question revived, following the publication of an article in the Christchurch "Press" on 14 June, I issued my press statement of 24 June setting out the situation in full. By then grossly inaccurate assertions were being made and I was obliged to make my further statement of 26 June.

Since "CANTA" newspaper has contributed to the publication of inaccurate assertions on this question, I would hope that it would publish this statement and my earlier statements of 24 and 26 June. I would hope there will also be full coverage in other student newspapers before misconceptions spread even further.

I would hope that an attempt will be made to get the facts straight and to see this question in its true light without—if I might say—the somewhat hysterical distortion evident in statements which I have seen.