As of: March 27, 2024, 3:07 p.m
By: Babett Gumbrecht
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GPS navigation has been disrupted on a large scale in the Baltic Sea region for some time now.
Crisis regions are particularly affected.
Suspicion falls on Russia.
Warsaw/Stockholm – Worrying observation in the airspace around the Baltic Sea: In less than two days, experts reported persistent disruptions to navigation signals.
More than 1,600 aircraft were affected, including civilian planes, according to an open-source information report that regularly tracks GPS jamming.
An initial map posted on
short message service X
shows extensive disruption across Poland and southern Sweden early Saturday (March 23).
Later, the disruptions were limited to large parts of northern Poland,
Newsweek
reports .
Jamming signal can be located: Suspicion falls on Russia
Planes flying near the Baltic region and several NATO countries in Eastern Europe reported interference with their GPS signals.
Jamming or distorting Global Positioning System (GPS) signals can confuse manned or unmanned aircraft or cause their navigation systems to believe they are in a different location.
German security researchers, aviation experts and the military are tracking the GPS interference quite closely and it is also possible to specifically locate the sources of the interference.
However, no information is provided publicly about the results.
However, concrete suspicion falls on Russia, which, according to various reports, also protects its own cities with a kind of jamming shield against attacks, like the ones Ukraine flies with drones as part of its defense.
The Russian military itself uses its own satellite navigation system, Glonass, reports the
German Press Agency (dpa)
.
Disruptions are increasing: the Federal Network Agency makes the decision on countermeasures
The increase in GPS jamming in Eastern Europe in recent months has also been attributed to jamming in Russia's Kaliningrad region, an exclave between NATO members Poland and Lithuania that serves as a base for one of Russia's largest naval fleets,
Newsweek reports.
Security experts have been monitoring Baltic airspace for a long time.
“Since December 2023, disruptions to the navigation signals emitted by the satellite navigation system 'Global Positioning System (GPS)' have been sporadically reported from the northeastern area of German airspace,” the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMDV) told the dpa
upon
request.
The Federal Network Agency, which is responsible for protecting the electromagnetic spectrum, is continuously informed.
There is also an exchange between other authorities involved, the Bundeswehr and the airspace users.
A spokesman for the ministry writes: “Initiating countermeasures would also be the responsibility of the Federal Network Agency.”
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DLR experts agree: there is no acute danger to pilots
Since pilots and ship captains rely on several systems, the Aerospace Center (DLR) believes there is “no acute threat” to them.
“However, there have been route changes and flight cancellations,” they write.
However, with a view to the development of future positioning technologies that serve to cope with increasing traffic density and automation in the mobility sector, one is “well advised to take such disruptions seriously and take them into account in such future technology developments”.
The use of satellite navigation has become very widespread in everyday life.
The signals are used to determine one's own position and for route planning in vehicles.
They are also relevant for automated processes such as in agriculture.
The DLR researchers point out another point: the satellites emit precise time signals that allow highly precise synchronization of technical systems.
This is used in power grids, modern telecommunications networks and also in financial transactions.
Due to increasing automation – for example in road traffic – it is important to “develop effective countermeasures”.
Countermeasures are being developed: Alternative navigation system is being tested in the Baltic Sea
“Navigation warfare” is the general military term for weakening the enemy with this type of warfare.
Even if there is a solution to a disruption, a combination of data attacks can lead to a collapse.
The fact that Germany is inadequately prepared for such scenarios - which could be part of a larger hybrid attack - has been criticized for a long time.
However, countermeasures are already being worked on at the DLR Center for Communication and Navigation.
An example is the alternative navigation system R-MODE.
It is currently being tested in the Baltic Sea and enables ships to determine their position even in the event of GPS interference by using other radio signals.
There is also a comparable alternative for aviation.
Receivers with high dynamics and multiple antennas that allow “robust satellite navigation” are also very efficient.
The experts: “They enable directional resolution of the received signals and can therefore very well detect and suppress interference signals radiated from a certain direction.” Tests have been very successful and the technology should become a product for a wide range of applications in the coming years.
(bg/dpa)