Image: Covert Shores www.hisutton.com
What’s New:
St. Petersburg, Russia has seen a significant increase in GPS, perhaps GNSS, disruption since the first of June (as observed and tweeted by GPSJam.org).- The Covert Shores blog has posted an image of a Russian warship in St. Petersburg that seems to have GPS/GNSS jamming equipment installed.
- Covert Shores hypothesized on Twitter “#Russian navy must be concerned of drone attacks on upcoming July 30 Navy Day parade in St Petersburg.”
Why It’s Important:
- This appears to show the Russian government’s on-going concern about drone attack, even far away from the conflict with Ukraine.
What Else to Know:
- Russia has long used interference with GPS/GNSS as both an offensive and defensive tool.
- Examples of use for defense:
- It has been jamming/spoofing GPS in Moscow since at least 2016 to protect the Kremlin against drone attack.
- Russia claims it has outfitted 25,000 cell towers with GPS jamming devices to protect against American cruise missiles.
- GPS spoofing patterns across Russia have been associated with VIP movements.
- The drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this year could only have reinforced concerns.
