A Peek Inside Russia’s GPS Jamming Playbook

In Europe at this very moment, satellites whisper, and Russia screams.

Notice the GPS jamming spilling over into Finland and Poland. Screenshot from the free GPS jamming map service gpsjam.org

That’s the essence of GPS jamming: weak, fragile signals sent from 20,000 kilometers overhead, snuffed out by ground-based transmitters shouting louder in the same frequency bands.

Over the past two years, NATO pilots, airline captains, and ship crews have discovered firsthand what it feels like when Russia dials up the volume. The news lately is filled with reports of Russian jamming in international waters and flight corridors. Their aircraft suddenly lose navigation precision, maritime AIS tracks teleport inland, and smartphones turn into confused compasses.

But how is Russia doing it? These news stories tend to be light on actual details.

Russia doesn’t need to break into the GPS constellation. It just has to flood the airwaves in the right direction at the right frequencies.

With the right equipment, the effects spread across borders and air corridors, sowing chaos far beyond Russia’s actual reach. The technical details matter because they explain not only how Russia manages to harass civilian and military systems across Europe, but also how NATO and its partners might counter it.

So, let’s lean on my experience in surveillance radar on the E-3 Sentry and get into the…