GPS Jamming & Electronic Warfare

Over the last three-four years there has been increasing evidence that Russia has been using GPS jamming around the world to disrupt military exercises carried out by NATO and other forces. This has been done with little regard to the dangers that blocking GPS signals poses to civilian aircraft and other vehicles which rely on GPS signals to navigate safely.

Russia uses electronic warfare weapon systems, such as Borisoglebsk 2, to disrupt communications and GPS systems. GPS systems work by receiving radio signals from four or more satellites. It is relatively easy to block or jam those radio signals. GPS jamming works by sending out radio waves on the same frequencies which the satellites use in order to override or distort the radio signal. GPS spoofing works by sending radio signals which mimic the radio signals sent by the satellites. If a GPS unit can't receive the radio signals from four or more satellites or receives a spoofed signal then it can't accurately calculate its position on Earth.

Aerospace Security has mapped out evidence that Russia has been sporadically jamming GPS signals in northern Scandinavia. It has mapped out areas which have experienced a loss of GPS signals during three different military exercises, Russia’s Zapad-2017 exercise, NATO's Trident Juncture exercise, and the United Kingdom’s Clockwork exercise. During all three military exercises it is the Russians who are believed to have been responsible for jamming GPS signals.

The interactive map in GPS Jamming in the Arctic Circle allows you to select any of the three military exercises. You can then view an animated heat map which plots the areas which suffered GPS loss over the course of the chosen exercise. This signal loss has been calculated using 'publicly available reports from regional media outlets and federal authorities'. The interactive map also shows the locations of known NATO and Russian military units during these military exercises.