The military accidentally destroyed the familiar world of millions of people.
Sometimes the journey home suddenly becomes twenty minutes longer, and the courier suddenly appears to be in the middle of the sea. Residents of the Persian Gulf countries are increasingly noticing such oddities in delivery and navigation apps. The cause isn't service errors. The disruption is caused by interference in satellite navigation due to military operations around Iran.
Social media users are posting screenshots of delivery vehicles floating on water or abruptly changing routes. Life in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has largely returned to normal, but such disruptions are a reminder of the ongoing conflict. The military is actively using electronic warfare and deliberately jamming satellite signals.
Modern armies have long employed this tactic. Disrupting navigation systems complicates the guidance of drones, missiles, and reconnaissance assets. The problem is that these same satellite signals are used by civilian aviation, maritime transport, energy infrastructure, and common smartphone navigation apps. When a signal is degraded or lost, the consequences extend far beyond military operations.
There are two main methods of attacking navigation: signal jamming and signal spoofing. The difference between these methods explains why sometimes navigation simply stops working, while other times it shows a perfectly plausible but incorrect point on the map.
GPS satellites are located approximately 20,000 kilometers from Earth and transmit a signal with a power of approximately 50 watts. By the time the signal reaches the planet's surface, the power is very weak. This makes satellite navigation relatively easy to disrupt. A small jammer , which can be purchased online and powered by a battery, can "blind" navigation over a large area.
Jamming occurs when an interference source overwhelms a weak satellite signal with more powerful noise. In this case, the receiver simply stops seeing the satellites. Jim Stroupe, head of navigation technology at SandboxAQ, compares the situation to a bright flashlight shining in front of your eyes: you try to see something far away, but the light gets in the way and the image disappears.
Signal spoofing works differently. The transmitter creates fake signals that mimic real satellites. The navigation receiver mistakes the fake signals for the real source and calculates coordinates incorrectly. The system continues to function normally, but displays a false position.
This method is much more complex and dangerous. The device intercepts the real satellite signal and then quickly broadcasts its own version. The receiver on the drone, ship, or plane assumes a new satellite has arrived and incorporates the data into its coordinate calculations. Small errors in distance cause the navigation system to gradually veer off course.
Spoofing can silently direct a drone to a different location or change the aircraft's position on the display without any warning. Stroupe gives an example: an attacker could spoof a signal so that the drone crosses the border of another country, even though the operator is confident of the correct route.
For ordinary users, the consequences of such attacks go beyond phone maps. Satellite navigation plays a key role in time synchronization. Medical systems, power grids, and even nuclear power plants rely on GPS signals to precisely coordinate equipment operation.
In many such systems, dozens of sensitive devices must operate synchronously with fractional-second accuracy. Even the slightest misalignment can cause serious problems. Prolonged disruptions can lead to flight cancellations , power grid overloads, or malfunctions in medical equipment.
Engineers are seeking alternatives to satellite navigation. In the industry, these solutions are called alternative positioning, navigation, and timing systems. However, most solutions only address a single task—for example, positioning or time synchronization.
One approach is so-called visual navigation . This technology essentially replicates the old method of pilots, who navigated by visible objects on the ground. Modern computers analyze camera images and compare them with terrain maps.
The system works well on routes with constant landmarks, such as when a drone flies between two points. However, the method is useless over the ocean, in the Arctic, or in destroyed cities where familiar landmarks have disappeared.
Other ideas are also being discussed, including using signals from the Starlink satellite system or creating dense constellations of satellites in low orbit. However, such systems can also be jammed; they would simply require more powerful equipment.
There's a more unusual option. Engineers propose navigating by the Earth's magnetic "pattern." Mineral deposits, rocks, and mountain ranges create slight distortions in the magnetic field. New quantum sensors are capable of measuring these changes and creating a map of unique magnetic "fingerprints" for every point on the planet.
No two areas of the Earth's surface have the same magnetic signature. A vehicle can compare the measured magnetic field with a map and determine its position. Since the signal comes from the planet itself, it is significantly more difficult to jam than satellite navigation.
According to Straup, no one will completely abandon GPS. It makes much more sense to supplement satellite navigation with new technologies to ensure the system continues to operate even during jamming. In the context of modern electronic warfare, such a safeguard is becoming increasingly important.
Sometimes the journey home suddenly becomes twenty minutes longer, and the courier suddenly appears to be in the middle of the sea. Residents of the Persian Gulf countries are increasingly noticing such oddities in delivery and navigation apps. The cause isn't service errors. The disruption is caused by interference in satellite navigation due to military operations around Iran.
Social media users are posting screenshots of delivery vehicles floating on water or abruptly changing routes. Life in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has largely returned to normal, but such disruptions are a reminder of the ongoing conflict. The military is actively using electronic warfare and deliberately jamming satellite signals.
Modern armies have long employed this tactic. Disrupting navigation systems complicates the guidance of drones, missiles, and reconnaissance assets. The problem is that these same satellite signals are used by civilian aviation, maritime transport, energy infrastructure, and common smartphone navigation apps. When a signal is degraded or lost, the consequences extend far beyond military operations.
There are two main methods of attacking navigation: signal jamming and signal spoofing. The difference between these methods explains why sometimes navigation simply stops working, while other times it shows a perfectly plausible but incorrect point on the map.
GPS satellites are located approximately 20,000 kilometers from Earth and transmit a signal with a power of approximately 50 watts. By the time the signal reaches the planet's surface, the power is very weak. This makes satellite navigation relatively easy to disrupt. A small jammer , which can be purchased online and powered by a battery, can "blind" navigation over a large area.
Jamming occurs when an interference source overwhelms a weak satellite signal with more powerful noise. In this case, the receiver simply stops seeing the satellites. Jim Stroupe, head of navigation technology at SandboxAQ, compares the situation to a bright flashlight shining in front of your eyes: you try to see something far away, but the light gets in the way and the image disappears.
Signal spoofing works differently. The transmitter creates fake signals that mimic real satellites. The navigation receiver mistakes the fake signals for the real source and calculates coordinates incorrectly. The system continues to function normally, but displays a false position.
This method is much more complex and dangerous. The device intercepts the real satellite signal and then quickly broadcasts its own version. The receiver on the drone, ship, or plane assumes a new satellite has arrived and incorporates the data into its coordinate calculations. Small errors in distance cause the navigation system to gradually veer off course.
Spoofing can silently direct a drone to a different location or change the aircraft's position on the display without any warning. Stroupe gives an example: an attacker could spoof a signal so that the drone crosses the border of another country, even though the operator is confident of the correct route.
For ordinary users, the consequences of such attacks go beyond phone maps. Satellite navigation plays a key role in time synchronization. Medical systems, power grids, and even nuclear power plants rely on GPS signals to precisely coordinate equipment operation.
In many such systems, dozens of sensitive devices must operate synchronously with fractional-second accuracy. Even the slightest misalignment can cause serious problems. Prolonged disruptions can lead to flight cancellations , power grid overloads, or malfunctions in medical equipment.
Engineers are seeking alternatives to satellite navigation. In the industry, these solutions are called alternative positioning, navigation, and timing systems. However, most solutions only address a single task—for example, positioning or time synchronization.
One approach is so-called visual navigation . This technology essentially replicates the old method of pilots, who navigated by visible objects on the ground. Modern computers analyze camera images and compare them with terrain maps.
The system works well on routes with constant landmarks, such as when a drone flies between two points. However, the method is useless over the ocean, in the Arctic, or in destroyed cities where familiar landmarks have disappeared.
Other ideas are also being discussed, including using signals from the Starlink satellite system or creating dense constellations of satellites in low orbit. However, such systems can also be jammed; they would simply require more powerful equipment.
There's a more unusual option. Engineers propose navigating by the Earth's magnetic "pattern." Mineral deposits, rocks, and mountain ranges create slight distortions in the magnetic field. New quantum sensors are capable of measuring these changes and creating a map of unique magnetic "fingerprints" for every point on the planet.
No two areas of the Earth's surface have the same magnetic signature. A vehicle can compare the measured magnetic field with a map and determine its position. Since the signal comes from the planet itself, it is significantly more difficult to jam than satellite navigation.
According to Straup, no one will completely abandon GPS. It makes much more sense to supplement satellite navigation with new technologies to ensure the system continues to operate even during jamming. In the context of modern electronic warfare, such a safeguard is becoming increasingly important.
