Russian authorities appear to be systematically messing with GPS and other GNSS signals in multiple locations, a new report from the
Center for Advanced Defense Studies concludes.
This tactic is called "GPS spoofing": broadcasting a false GPS/GNSS signal in a specific location to fool GPS/GNSS receivers and render them unreliable or unusable.
The incidents appear to correlate with sensitive Russian facilities, active combat zones, and the travel itinerary of one Vladimir V. Putin. In one case, while Putin was opening a bridge between Russia and Crimea, nearby ships were suddenly informed by their GPS/GNSS receivers that they were dozens of kilometres away from their actual position.
Russia carried out 9,883 spoofing operations throughout Russia, annexed Crimea and Syria between February 2016 and November 2018, according to the C4ADS conflict research group :
Exposing the GPS spoofing in Russia and Syria
ABOVE US ONLY STARS
Quote:“Smart weapons need smart people to tell them smart things. They need positioning coordinates. They need navigation systems,” said Michael Kofman, a Russian military expert at CNA, a research organization. “The pace of operations requires constant access to data in real time,” and the Russian military believes that electronic warfare “is part of the answer to U.S. dominance in precision weapons and airspace assault.”
Russia has pioneered these technologies in Ukraine and Syria, jamming radio, GPS, and radar signals. In Syria, U.S. commanders have complained of an “aggressive electronic warfare environment,” and the U.S. military is now making moves to upgrade its electronic warfare capabilities.
Russia Is Tricking GPS to Protect Putin
Btw: this was already noticed in 2016:
St. Petersburg Drivers Report Strange GPS Problems in City Center
In September 2017,
WIRE reported on one of the first known instances of GPS Russian spoofing. In November 2018, the governments of Finland and Norway accused Russia of jamming GPS signals on a nearby military base during Nato testing operations. (Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at the time "as a rule, these allegations are found to have no basis in actual fact".)
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