pugwash
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GPS and the Taliban
Since paranoia is the name of the game these days...
This week's Flight Magazine has a story about the vulnerability of GPS to jamming. Jammer technology is readily available and the civil aviation world is increasingly vulnerable. A Russian company markets a cheap hand-held gadget that jams GPS signals for 200km around. China and Iraq are developing their own versions.
This means, in effect, that one lad with a gadget in a handbag could sit on Beachy Head and wipe out GPS for aircraft and boats in the entire Channel area.
In response, the US Defense Dept is fielding systems to resist jammers. A report by the US Dept of Transport concludes that "GPS is susceptible to disruption from such causes as atmospheric effects, signal blockage from buildings, and interference from communication equipment...furthermore, the signal ... is subject to degradation and loss through attacks by hostile interests. Potential attacks range from jamming and spoofing of GPS signals to disruption of GPS ground stations and satellites. .." As a result, all sorts of back-ups are in the pipeline.
The likelihood of any of this affecting you and me plodding across the Channel in our 30-footers is remote. But it does show there's a very good reason why we ought to keep our charts dry and our pencils sharp.
Since paranoia is the name of the game these days...
This week's Flight Magazine has a story about the vulnerability of GPS to jamming. Jammer technology is readily available and the civil aviation world is increasingly vulnerable. A Russian company markets a cheap hand-held gadget that jams GPS signals for 200km around. China and Iraq are developing their own versions.
This means, in effect, that one lad with a gadget in a handbag could sit on Beachy Head and wipe out GPS for aircraft and boats in the entire Channel area.
In response, the US Defense Dept is fielding systems to resist jammers. A report by the US Dept of Transport concludes that "GPS is susceptible to disruption from such causes as atmospheric effects, signal blockage from buildings, and interference from communication equipment...furthermore, the signal ... is subject to degradation and loss through attacks by hostile interests. Potential attacks range from jamming and spoofing of GPS signals to disruption of GPS ground stations and satellites. .." As a result, all sorts of back-ups are in the pipeline.
The likelihood of any of this affecting you and me plodding across the Channel in our 30-footers is remote. But it does show there's a very good reason why we ought to keep our charts dry and our pencils sharp.
