It consists of jamming GPS signals, causing planes to go off course.
Electronic warfare in the Middle East and Ukraine is affecting air travel far from the front lines. This exposes unintended consequences that will become increasingly common.
The New York Times writes about this.
As noted, aircraft are losing satellite signals. Flights were diverted and pilots received false position reports or inaccurate warnings that they were flying close to terrain.
The Federal Aviation Administration also warned pilots about GPS jamming in the Middle East.
Radio frequency interference, designed to disrupt satellite signals used by missiles, drones and other weapons, has risen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. This fall they have become even more intense in the Middle East. Interference may involve jamming satellite signals by drowning them out with noise.
Radio interference has not yet proven dangerous. But according to Opsgroup, an organization that monitors changes and risks in the airline industry, aircraft systems have proven largely unable to detect GPS spoofing and correct it. One Dubai-bound Embraer plane nearly flew into Iranian airspace in September before pilots realized the plane was following the wrong signal.
Planes can usually fly safely without satellite signals, and large commercial planes have at least six alternative navigation systems, pilots say. Business jets such as Dassault Falcons, Gulfstreams and Bombardiers appear to be more susceptible to signal spoofing, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said.
The aircraft loading could be a harbinger of far-reaching economic and security problems as electronic warfare weapons proliferate. Financial markets, telecommunications companies, energy providers, broadcasters and other industries around the world rely on satellite signals to maintain accurate time. One study from Britain found that a five-day satellite signal failure could cost the country $6.3 billion.
In general, satellite signals are susceptible to jamming and spoofing. They are transmitted from orbit more than 12,000 miles above Earth and are so weak that they are as powerful as a light bulb.
Today, a hobbyist with a few hundred dollars and instructions from the Internet can make money on satellite signals. Governments have also become more willing to tamper with signals as part of their electronic warfare.
“What has changed over the last few years is that faking has moved from theory in scientific papers and in laboratories to actual events in nature,” Professor Humphreys said.
It is not always possible to distinguish jamming from spoofing or determine who is behind the interference. In mid-October, Israel said it had limited the use of GPS in the region and warned pilots not to rely on satellite navigation systems when landing.
Russian interference is well documented. A 2019 report by Washington-based think tank C4ADS shows widespread interference from a Russian-controlled airbase in Syria. The report also noted that when Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to remote areas or Russian-occupied Crimea, he was accompanied by mobile GPS spoofing technology.
Russia is blowing up GPS signals to throw Ukrainian drones off course and fire precision-guided projectiles away from their targets. Ukraine also jams Russian receivers, but not at such a high level.
Let us recall that after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the supply of shells to Ukraine decreased.
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