Image: Shutterstock
What’s new: Data and anecdotes we have not seen often, in some cases ever, about interference in aviation:
- EASA said that of about 6,000 spoofing incidents in 2025, 25% were during approach. – That counts!
- On spoofing: “Actual occurrences are believed to be 50 times more frequent than reported,”
- “Long-haul operators are reporting that almost 100% of flights from Europe to eastern destinations [Asia-Pacific and the Middle East] encounter GPS radio frequency interference,”
Why it’s important: We have already seen people die and nearly die as a result of interference. That will eventually happen again.
What else to know:
- Spoofing is easy to do for both state and non-state actors. Even if nation-states stop doing it (hard to imagine), the danger from non-state actors, i.e. terrorist groups, transnational criminal organizations, individuals with an agenda or grievance, etc.) will not go away.
- There are few deterrents to spoofing. Few nations, if any, have adequate detection systems or enforcement measures in place to sanction spoofers within their own borders.
- It seems to us that the only way to make GNSS-based navigation and timing significantly safer for aviation and every other application is to establish one or more complementary systems that are much harder to disrupt.
- Here is a paper from Osechas and McGraw exploring complementary PNT for aviation. At least one of the systems they cite could also support other modes of transportation and critical infrastructure.
While commercial aircraft are careful to avoid flying over conflict areas, airlines are increasingly confronting a dangerous spillover from war zones—spoofing. The practice involves state and non-state actors transmitting fake global positioning system (GPS) signals that can confuse and mislead pilots.
Spoofing is largely intended by both state and non-state actors to misdirect military aircraft and drones in war zones. But the fake signals, which are widely transmitted, often end up affecting navigation systems in commercial aircraft cockpits.
____
What can you do? How can you help?
PNT is the quiet backbone of everything that works — power, finance, transportation, defense. Too many leaders still don’t see the risk.
But you do.
You understand the systems, the dependencies, the failure chains. That insight is rare — and it’s exactly what your country needs.
So speak up.
Reach out to government leaders, industry decision‑makers, and your fellow citizens.
Show them why resilient PNT isn’t a feature — it’s the necessary foundation.
And when you get a response, tell us. Every conversation strengthens the mission.
