GPS Jamming

The new electronic warfare of GPS jamming and spoofing poses a serious security concern for modern-day aviation.

Countries like Estonia have accused Russia of jamming GPS navigation devices in the airspace above the Baltic states, backed by airlines that say they have been grappling with such interference for months. 

There have been reports of growing GPS interference across the globe, particularly since last year. This has sparked fears of an increased risk of accidents if planes veer off course. 

Background 

GPS, short for Global Positioning System, is a network of satellites and receiving devices used to position, navigate, and maintain timing in transport ranging from ships to planes to cars. 

It has remained one of the most critical aviation navigation tools since it replaced expensive ground devices that transmitted radio beams to guide landing planes. 

It has become reasonably easy to use store-bought tools to block or distort GPS signals. Militaries have invested in such technology.

GPS jamming relies on a frequency-transmitting device to block or interrupt radio communications, usually through signals that are stronger than satellite-based signals. 

Spoofing could involve one country’s military sending false GPS signals to a target plane or drone to thwart its ability to navigate correctly and is widely considered more dangerous than jamming.

GPS jamming poses a significant risk for commercial aviation if the false signal is picked up by a passenger plane’s GPS receiver, which could confuse the pilot and the air traffic control by indicating the wrong time or coordinates.

Electronic warfare in the Middle East and Ukraine is impacting air travel far from the war zone, alarming pilots and revealing collateral of a war tactic that experts project will become more widespread. An aviation advisory group OPSGROUP pointed to a surge in spoofing affecting private and commercial jets around the Middle East including Iraq, Iran, Israel, and the Black Sea. 

Its ambit ranges from across the Baltic states to the Swedish and Finnish coasts and also affects lower altitudes and maritime vessels. 

While many have pointed to Russia as the main engineer of GPS attacks in the Baltic states, experts also point to US and British forces, which could be using some form of the technology. However, Russian interference is well-documented. 

Analysis

So how serious is the risk? While most modern planes have multiple sensors and sources to determine their positioning, they still mainly rely on GPS and some private jets rely solely on GPS. Additionally, jamming and spoofing can cause stress and delays for take-off and landing because certain steps require GPS.

The situation remains that planes are losing satellite signals, flights are being diverted, and pilots have received false locations or inaccurate warnings. Using radio frequency interference to disrupt satellite signals of rockets, drones, and other weapons has spiked since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

The interference could be jamming satellite signals by drowning them out or spoofing them – mimicking actual satellite signals to trick recipients with misleading information. 

Aircraft systems have so far been unable to detect GPS spoofing and correct for it, according to Opsgroup, an organization that monitors the aviation industry, causing many a flight to veer into the wrong airspace chasing a false signal. 

The stress on aviation could lead to serious economic and security problems as electronic warfare widens. It could impact not just aviation but other sectors like financial markets, telecom companies, and power providers that rely on satellite signals. According to a study, a five-day disruption of satellite signals could cost the UK $6.3 billion. 

Spoofing is no longer as complicated and expensive – prices have fallen so that today, an amateur can spoof satellite signals. Governments have also been more willing to overtly engage in electronic warfare and interfere with signals. It’s been over the last couple of years that spoofing has made its way into real-life events from theory.