Explained: How GPS Interference Affects Aircraft & Why Military Powers Use It

For months or years now, GPS signals have been spoofed and jammed in parts of northeast Europe, neighboring Russia. Russia was recently blamed for one 63-hour attack that affected thousands of aircraft in the region. While there has been a flurry of large and new GPS jamming attacks in the region, this is not new. A French regulator blamed Russia for GPS jamming around Finland in 2022 (and there were other jamming instances in 2018). GPS is a core part of an aircraft’s navigation system and interfering with it can pose a safety risk.