A number of times, aircraft have reported that the GPS system has failed.
Now Norway can face a breakthrough. The Defense Research Institute (FFI), a science department within the armed forces, last weekend tested whether it is possible to detect such jamming using satellites, thereby alerting when and where it is happening.
The map shows the two areas where the Norwegian Armed Forces gave notice to pilots about GPS jamming last weekend.
– We feel that this is a breakthrough, this is the first time we have tested such a system, researcher Ørnulf Kandola at FFI says to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).
Interference with GPS signals in Northern Norway usually has been linked to exercises within the Russian Armed Forces. To knock out navigation systems is seen as a natural way to get a head start in a military conflict.
The test site for the alert system, at Andøy in Northern Norway.
Foto: FFI– Headache
Airplanes in particular are vulnerable when the GPS stops working. In addition to making it more difficult to navigate, a system that warns of collision danger with other aircraft stops working.
– We find that other norwegian authorities take the problem seriously, but it seems to be quite a headache to solve this problem. The Armed Forces taking an interest in this, is very good news, also for the civil aviation, flight captain Aleksander Wasland in Norwegian airliner Widerøe says.
Flight captain Aleksander Wasland describes the development of a jamming alert system as good news.
Foto: NORSK FLYGERFORBUNDHe himself has experienced being jammed twice. Their Dash 8 airplanes are operating on short take off and landing airports in Norway.
– The real headache for us is that we have a number of systems that don’t work when GPS is jammed, and for the flight safety, this is a problem, says Wasland.
More work to come
There is still some work left before the alert system will be operative. The signals picked up by the satellites this weekend will be analyzed in USA.
– It’s a very exciting job, but it is too early to say whether the satellites have been able to perceive the jamming signals we sent out over the weekend. We will know better in the near future, says Kandola.
Researcher Ørnulf Kandola is working on the possible breakthrough in a GPS jamming alert system.
Foto: FFICurrently, there are only three satellites in the system, operated by the US company Hawkeye 360. It’s not good enough for the warning system to work properly.
– These three satellites are orbiting polar orbits and they do not cover the entire earth at once. But the company do have plans to launch more satellites, and then we will get better and more continuous coverage of Norway, says Kandola.
Test flying in jammed area
Helicopters from the Norwegian Air Ambulance participated in the tests FFI did on Andøya.
Jamming is not just a problem near the russian border. It is also common for individuals to use noise transmitters to prevent GPS monitoring on vehicles from functioning.
Air ambulance pilot and project manager Lars Magne Amdal sent helicopters into the jamming area, to study how the cockpit instruments behave when the GPS falls out.
– We have almost 70 inflight procedures in Norway, and they are all are based on GPS, says pilot and project manager Lars Magne Amdal in the Norwegian Air Ambulance.
The opportunity to practice while FFI turned on its noise transmitters, the Air Ambulance could not let go of.
– We have a too little knowledge of the consequences of GPS falling out, but during the flight this weekend we got good analyzes of how the instruments behave in such a situation, says Amdal.
Today's warning system has shortcomings
The National Communications Authority has several alert stations near the russian border. But these do not always manage to perceive jamming.
– You have to go up high above the ground to see the signals. The challenge is that at this height you cannot see where the signals are coming from, department director Per Eirik Heimdal told NRK earlier this year.
