Along with other high-tech equipment that you don't want just anyone having the use of.
DARPA is looking into the question.
'Tis a matter I'd been pondering, on and off, for many a year.
Being as how I'm not in a position to profit from this any time soon, I'll just toss out some notions, mainly for largish items such as shoulder-fired missiles: things big enough to incorporate GPS receivers even if location isn't part of the core functionality.
How about this: the item includes a GPS receiver and an internal clock. When the item is released to service, it's fed an activation code: perhaps an XML snippet giving earliest and latest authorized use times, and the geographic boundaries of the authorized use area, plus a digital signature chain.
When someone actually tries to use it, it checks the GPS signal. If the time doesn't agree with the internal clock to within the internal clock's tolerance, it refuses to work. If the time is outside the specified limits, it refuses to work. If the location is outside the specified area, it refuses to work.
Thus, a missile released for use in Afghanistan between 07 April 2014 and 07 August 2014 could not be fired in, say, Stuttgart at any time, nor anywhere after 07 August.
The obvious risk: a technically sophisticated enemy deploys GPS jammers on the battlefield, and all our fancy weapons stop working.
The other challenge is potting everything to prevent tampering... but if the lock is integrated with a missile guidance system, bypassing it just gets you a dumb missile that was designed to be smart, and maybe won't fly even remotely straight without active guidance.
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