Global Positioning System (GPS) devices are vulnerable to interference and jamming. According to EUROCONTROL’s EVAIL collected GNSS outage report, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) incidents are on the rise and in 2019, the GNSS outages increased up to2000%. RFI was responsible for most of them, followed by equipment errors, satellite constellation interruptions, and ionosphere-related anomalies caused by solar activity. RFI is the conduction or radiation of electrical noise or radio frequency energy produced by electrical and electronic equipment. This interferes with the operation of nearby equipment or those connected on the same power system.
Interference of GPS systems is a serious issue with potential economic and political consequences, which makes it crucial to detect interferences, geolocate them and act accordingly to protect vital assets.
Recently HawkEye 360 Inc. announced that it has developed the capability to detect and geolocate GPS interference, with analysis of data over Ukraine revealing extensive GPS interference activity. HawkEye 360 is using satellites to monitor radio frequency signals for interference that might threaten military and civil navigation applications.
“Whether unintentional or deliberate, interference that prevents people, vehicles, ships, and planes from determining accurate locations can be devastating to government and commercial activities alike. Since HawkEye 360 can monitor hundreds of millions of square kilometers daily, we are able to notify clients when and where GPS interference occurs, so they can respond quickly to mitigate the impacts,” says John Serafini, CEO, HawkEye 360.
In February, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) observed that in certain areas jamming and spoofing of GNSS signals have intensified. And then in March, EASA said that the jamming or spoofing has been observed by aircrafts in various phases of flights, which forced the aircrafts to “re-routing or even to change the destination due to the inability to perform a safe landing procedure.”
When HawkEye 360 analysts examined Ukraine from November 2021 till February 2022 and discovered continued and increased GPS interference across the region. The data showed extensive GPS interference in November 2021 along the boundary of the pro-Russian separatist-controlled regions in Luhansk and Donetsk. Open-source information confirmed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) operating in the area were disrupted due to lost GPS connections.
Also Read: HawkEye 360 Detects GPS Jamming Along Ukraine Border Prior to Russian Invasion
HawkEye 360 has developed a space-based GPS interference detection capability that has been tested during the Russian-Ukrainian war, which according to the company has proven that it is successful in monitoring the illicit and unintentional GPS interference which significantly disrupts critical location services.
This is the approach they followed:
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