Russia's use of jammers undermines confidence in US GPS

　　Over the past few months, Russia has aggressively used GPS jammers in Ukraine to disrupt GPS signals, undermining confidence in "America's gift to the world." These activities appear to be in line with some of Russia's national goals:

　　While threatening Russia’s neighbors, making them question their relationship with the United States and American technology, and rely on the United States and American technology. In September 2017, Russian military exercises disrupted GPS services in northern Norway for a week. In the second half of the same month, Russian GPS jammed the Baltic Sea, disrupting cell phone service in parts of Latvia, Sweden, and Norway. In March 2018, Russia's intervention during the "exercise" disrupted the aviation industry in northern Norway again, which also affected the telecommunications industry. The Russian military has many locations in its hinterland and deep in Syria where GPS jamming will not endanger the lives of neighboring countries.

　　Protect high-value assets from drones and other surveillance systems and GPS intrusions. Mass spoofing of GPS signals in Moscow's Black and Baltic regions is seen as part of Russia's drone defense strategy. Most drones are programmed at the factory based on the location of the airport and can be flown near the airport. As Russia's GPS spoofing efforts have so far caused receivers to report they are at airports, it's speculated to be part of an effort to stop nearby drones.

　　Western military and peacekeeping operations have suffered setbacks. Russian meddling and deception have often thwarted attempts to use drones to monitor Ukraine's Minsk deal. Russia's electronic warfare in Syria has been described as the most powerful warrior in world history, hampering the actions of U.S. and allied forces.

　　Russia encourages the adoption and use of GLONASS instead of GPS, especially around Russia. Putin has criticized GLONASS for being far behind GPS and rarely used. Coastal maritime traffic near Russia is particularly vulnerable to GPS outages. President Putin was recently briefed on the addition of differentiated GLONASS services to Russian airports and seaports. Today, more than 8,700 ships in Russian waters are equipped with GLONASS. Russian GPS jammers can completely destroy GPS without affecting GLONASS signals.