GPS interference, including spoofing with false signals, is increasing in conflict zones worldwide.
India’s borders with Pakistan and Myanmar are among the top five global regions reporting over 10% of low navigation accuracy incidents.
Spoofing
Spoofing is a form of cyberattack where false GPS signals mislead navigation equipment.
Common in conflict zones, it is also used to disable drones frequently deployed in modern warfare.
Impact of GPS Interference
Interference was linked to the Azerbaijan Airlines crash on December 25, 2024, which resulted in 38 fatalities.
Affected regions include Delhi Flight Information Region, ranked 9th globally for spoofing incidents, with 316 aircraft impacted between July 15 and August 15, 2024.
Global Hotspots for Spoofing
First detected in northern Iraq (Baghdad) in September 2023.
New spoofing locations identified in 2024:
Black Sea region.
Western Russia and the Baltics.
North-South Korea border areas.
Western Ukraine.
India-Pakistan border.
Regulatory Actions in India
In November 2023, the DGCA issued an advisory asking airlines to:
Develop standard operating procedures.
Submit bi-monthly reports on spoofing incidents.
Data on these incidents is not publicly available, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation has not responded to data requests.
Flight Tracking Challenges
Spoofing can affect flight tracking websites like flightradar24, showing inaccurate flight diversions due to loss of data.
Airlines' operation control centres are notified immediately in such cases.
Aircraft systems include Inertial Reference Systems (IRS) that maintain safe navigation for up to five hours if GPS fails.
Despite redundancies, pilots describe spoofing as akin to flying with “one’s hands tied behind one’s back”.
Potential Risks of Spoofing
Errors in speed display.
False terrain warnings, misleading pilots into thinking the aircraft is at a dangerously low altitude or near terrain.
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