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Indian Express
29-06-2025
- Indian Express
How GPS interference threatens global transportation
A Delhi-Jammu flight was forced to turn back last week. Two tankers collided at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. A container ship ran aground near the port of Jeddah in May. All three mishaps had a common cause: GPS interference which, in recent years, has emerged as one of the biggest challenges for seafaring vessels and aircraft. What is GPS interference? GPS interference refers to spoofing or jamming, two types of deliberate cyber-attacks on Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, which disrupt or deceive vehicles' navigation systems. While both are often used synonymously with each other, spoofing and jamming refer to slightly different kinds of interference. GPS jamming, also known as GPS intervention, involves a device (jammer) emitting strong radio signals on GPS frequencies in order to overpower weaker signals. This disrupts the functioning of GPS systems by rendering receivers unable to determine location or time. GPS spoofing involves a device transmitting signals on the same frequencies used by GPS satellites, overwhelming or blocking the GPS receivers from acquiring or maintaining the right satellite signals. Unlike jamming, which disrupts signals entirely, spoofing deceives the receiver into trusting false data. Why is GPS interference dangerous? GPS interference can disrupt both military and civilian transport operations from afar, without physical confrontation. 'The risks are real and alarming. Spoofing can cause a pilot to misjudge the aircraft's position, increasing the chance of collisions with terrain or other aircraft,' Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (retd), former vice-chief of Air Staff, told The Indian Express. 'For ships, the consequences of loss of situational awareness include groundings or collisions, disrupting entire maritime operations,' he said. In 2024, reports indicated up to 700 daily GPS spoofing incidents globally, highlighting the scale of the threat. For critical infrastructure, such as air traffic control, port operations, and VTS-vessel traffic systems, spoofing can cascade into broader systemic failures. 'GPS interference is not limited to air and water… With our increasing reliance on GPS navigation on roads, spoofing can cause havoc by triggering traffic jams and immobilising transport systems, especially in critical times as desired by an adversary or anyone with rogue intentions,' Air Marshal Gokhale added. Where are such incidents common? GPS interference can occur due to various reasons, not all of them malicious. These include electromagnetic radiation from nearby devices, adverse atmospheric conditions like ionospheric disturbances, solar activity (such as flares), and, of course, intentional jamming/spoofing. Most often, countries with advanced electronic warfare capabilities and involved in an active conflict are responsible. While interference may or may not be targeted at civilian vessels, those in the vicinity, relying on the same GPS infrastructure, are nonetheless susceptible. For instance, GPS interference has disrupted maritime navigation in the Persian Gulf and the Red sea amid ongoing conflicts throughout the region. Maritime tech consultancy Windward's Q1 2025 data show a 350% rise in spoofing incidents in the Red Sea alone compared to 2024–with some vessels having experienced sudden position jumps of hundreds of nautical miles. Such incidents have also been witnessed in Eastern Europe, amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. For aircraft, spoofing is one of the primary risks of being in the airspace of countries in war. 'This is one of the reasons for that air space being avoided by all aircraft during war. We immediately avoid these areas as a preventive measure,' said a former in-charge of safety with an airline. Russia was the first to experience a large-scale GPS spoofing attack in 2017, according to Captain Sachin Mundhra, COO Adani Karaikal Port, master mariner. 'In June 2017, more than 20 ships near Novorossiysk Port, Russia, reported sudden GPS errors — their navigation systems showed them miles inland at an airport. Investigation findings showed the ships' AIS (Automatic Identification System) displayed identical false positions. The analysis suggested a deliberate GPS spoofing attack,' he said. How do ships/aircraft mitigate risks of GPS interference and deal with the issue once detected? Aircraft experiencing GPS spoofing mid-air have to rely on alternative navigation systems. Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) are the primary backup: these use gyroscopes and accelerometers to track the aircraft's current position based on its last known location. VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) provide ground-based radio navigation, allowing pilots to further cross-check their position. Pilots can also use celestial navigation or dead reckoning (the process of calculating one's position by estimating the direction and distance travelled) in extreme cases, though these are less common in modern aviation. The Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), critical for precision approaches during landing, are unaffected by GPS spoofing. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has emphasised enhanced crew training. 'Pilots are also encouraged to listen carefully to the control room to pick up any chatter of suspected GPS spoofing and become immediately cautious of the possibility,' a former flight-safety official said. Modern ships typically run on auto-pilot: a course is assigned after which a GPS-based system autonomously determines control inputs to stay in course. During suspected spoofing, the ship's crew resorts to manual helm control-steering, with terrestrial navigation, which involves manual position fixing using land-based aids like lighthouses and radars, the immediate alternative to maintain situational awareness. Moreover, shipping companies are adopting multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) systems to mitigate against GPS interference. These use navigation systems of multiple countries to counter the digital threat — the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo, and China's Bei Dou, among others. Diversification is probably at the core of mitigating the risks of GPS interference. The Indian military has deployed the indigenous Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). NavIC is designed to provide precise positioning and timing services across India, and up to 1,500 km beyond its borders. 'During the 1999 Kargil war, India's request for the use of American GPS for information about positioning, timing & navigation of hostile forces was denied. Likewise, in 2009 and 2012, India's Brahmos missile failed to hit targets in trial operations as the US shut off GPS satellites without any warning. Such unsavoury incidents necessitated the need for NavIC. Its resilience and reliability were ably tested during Operation Sindhoor,' Air Marshal Gokhale said.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Unusual bird activity poses threat to flight movements at Pune airport
1 2 3 Pune: An unusual presence of birds sighted in the airspace and near the runway at Lohegaon airport on June 5 forced the air traffic control to divert a Pune-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi to Surat minutes before touchdown. On May 20, it was a nightmare for passengers on board a Hyderabad-bound IndiGo aircraft as they were made to sit for six hours while the ATC was waiting for the runway to be cleared of winged guests and also to allow some defence-related work to complete before signalling a take-off. Two incidents in two months paint a grim picture of the aircraft's growing vulnerability to unusual bird movements. Aviation experts have blamed the mushrooming eateries, commercial establishments, and high-rises surrounding the Pune airport compound, part of an Indian Air Force (IAF) base, and the unattended piles of garbage on their premises for the increasing bird activity. "Permission for constructions could be according to norms, but additional storeys are coming up and monitoring is minimal. Lohegaon is a frontline IAF base set up during the second world war and was once secluded. It is only during operations such as Sindoor that one realises the importance of these bases," Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale (retired) said, adding that the focus should be on developing the new airport in Purandar. Former airport director Deepak Shastri said no concrete steps are being taken to control encroachments and constructions around the airport. "There is an aerodrome environment management committee consisting of all stakeholders including the civic body. It has to meet periodically and find solutions to problems like garbage. The airport authorities need to tell us when the last meeting was held and what came out of that meeting?" These bird-related incidents might not be happening due to construction activities but because of improper garbage management by the establishments in and around the airport including in Vimannagar, said PMC commissioner Naval Kishore Ram. "The issue has come to my attention and I am going to hold a meeting soon to find out what more can be done to control the problem." Sandip Kadam, head of PMC's waste management department, however, claimed that garbage is lifted every day, and the focus is to ensure that it does not get accumulated. "An awareness campaign to sensitise people not to throw leftover foods in open areas near the airport will soon be undertaken," he said. Ornithologist Satish Pande, founder of Ela Foundation, told TOI that scavenging birds like crows, pigeons, kites and herons fly low and they run into a flight approaching an airport. "Many of the Indian airports, including in Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata, are surrounded by human habitation. We all know that garbage collection is a problem, and they lure these birds. Nowadays, aircraft engines are designed to ingest a bird up to a certain size, but a flock can cause serious damage," he said. Captain Arpit Manshani, who flies airplanes and choppers, said bird hits can range from no impact to bringing down a huge jet in the Hudson (in 2009). "We need to understand if the bird hit was big or small; where it hit — windshield, engine intake, rotor blade of helicopter or wing of airplane. Was it a flock of birds or just a single? What phase of flight were you in? Did it happen during take-off, landing, or cruising? What is the extent of damage — can you see it physically, did you hear an unusual sound, or any of the flight parameters is off. The critical thing is decision making by the pilots — from being vigilant about birds to avoiding them at the last second to taking right action after analysing the strike," he said. The IAF campus is spread over 3,200 acres and the perimeter wall is shared by Lohegaon and Wagholi areas. Last week's flight diversion prompted the IAF, which manages the runway and the ATC tower, to set up a bird-scraping squad among a series of measures. However, ornithologist Pande said one needs to take wildlife hazard management seriously. "There are high rises near airports and pigeons naturally perceive them as their nesting sites. Unfortunately, authorities take a casual approach while hiring people to mitigate the bird menace." Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke said, "The runway is managed by the IAF and they have been taking measures to keep it clear of bird movements. We are constantly coordinating with the PMC regarding different issues related to keeping the areas near the airport compound clean." A study published by Salim Ali Centre for Orthinology and Natural History on 'Best Practices for the Mitigation of the Hazards Posed by Birds to Aircraft' has recommended that buildings near airports be covered with bird proofing barriers. Sewerage treatment plants or open canals passing through the airfield should be completely covered, and water flows associated with irrigation and open stagnant water should be prevented. Feeding of birds by people within a two-km radius of the airport should be discouraged, the report said.
