The annual Red Flag war exercise by the US Air Force will cause disruptions in the GPS and navigation systems of many commercial flights in the region according to Foxtrot Alpha. In some cases electronics may be jammed completely.
Red Flag is the Air Force’s top air war training exercise, bringing together USAF fighter, bomber, tanker, and ISR squadrons with select allies for coordinated training over the 5,000 square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). For Red Flag 2018, which kicked off last week and will run through February 16, the Air Force will black out GPS, forcing aircrews to execute strike missions without their familiar satellite-based guide.
Training exercises are limited to 8-11 pm PST, but that will be enough to cause some major disruptions.
Critical infrastructure and emergency services need a satellite back-up.
The UK must reduce the dependency of its critical infrastructure and emergency services on GPS technology to mitigate against the potentially disastrous impact of signal jamming, a government report has warned.
In a forward to the long-awaited doc from the Government Office of Science, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are often described as an “invisible utility.” He said: “It is in our national interest, as this report makes clear, that we recognise the precise nature and extent of our dependence on GNSS.
"We must take steps to increase the resilience of our critical services in the event of GNSS disruption, including by adopting potential back-up systems where necessary," he wrote in the The Satellite-derived time and position: A Study of Critical Dependencies report (PDF).
Even the US military is worryingly dependent on GPS. The global positioning satellites tell planes where they are, provide targeting info for smart weapons, and support communication and navigation systems. But in a war with a tech-advanced adversary—think China, Russia, or Iran—GPS could become a big liability because it could be jammed, spoofed, or outright destroyed.
According to Flying Magazine, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) issued a warning to expect delays.
So how does the U.S. Air Force train for such a scenario? Simple—just turn it off.
Red Flag is the Air Force’s top air war training exercise, bringing together USAF fighter, bomber, tanker, and ISR squadrons with select allies for coordinated training over the 5,000 square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). For Red Flag 2018, which kicked off last week and will run through February 16, the Air Force will black out GPS, forcing aircrews to execute strike missions without their familiar satellite-based guide.
Training exercises are limited to 8-11 pm PST, but that will be enough to cause some major disruptions.
Critical infrastructure and emergency services need a satellite back-up.
The UK must reduce the dependency of its critical infrastructure and emergency services on GPS technology to mitigate against the potentially disastrous impact of signal jamming, a government report has warned.
In a forward to the long-awaited doc from the Government Office of Science, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are often described as an “invisible utility.” He said: “It is in our national interest, as this report makes clear, that we recognise the precise nature and extent of our dependence on GNSS.
"We must take steps to increase the resilience of our critical services in the event of GNSS disruption, including by adopting potential back-up systems where necessary," he wrote in the The Satellite-derived time and position: A Study of Critical Dependencies report (PDF).
Even the US military is worryingly dependent on GPS. The global positioning satellites tell planes where they are, provide targeting info for smart weapons, and support communication and navigation systems. But in a war with a tech-advanced adversary—think China, Russia, or Iran—GPS could become a big liability because it could be jammed, spoofed, or outright destroyed.
According to Flying Magazine, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) issued a warning to expect delays.
So how does the U.S. Air Force train for such a scenario? Simple—just turn it off.