The use of civilian-type GPS receivers by the military and their vulnerability to jamming
Keywords:
Global Navigation, Satellite Systems, GNSS, GPS jamming, radio frequency interference
Abstract
We considered the impact of external influences on a GPS receiver and how these influences affect the capabilities of civilian-type GPS receivers. A standard commercial radio frequency signal generator and passive GPS antenna were used to test the sensitivity of GPS to intentional jamming; the possible effects of the terrain on the propagation of the jamming signal were also tested. It was found that the high sensitivity of GPS receivers and the low strength level of GPS satellite signals combine to make GPS receivers very vulnerable to intentional jamming or unintentional radio frequency interference. Terrain undulation was used to shield GPS antennas from the direct line-of-sight of the jamming antenna and this indicated that terrain characteristics can be used to mitigate the effects of jamming. These results illuminate the vulnerability of civilian-type GPS receivers to the possibility and the ease of disablement and establish the foundation for future work.References
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2. Hofmann-Wellenhof B, Lichtenegger H, Collins J. GPS theory and practice. 5th revised ed. New York: Springer Wein, 2001; p. 20–24.
3. Kaplan ED, Hegarty CJ. Understanding GPS principles and applications. 2nd ed. Norwood, MA: Artech House, 2006; p.145–150.
4. Merry CL. Introduction to the global positioning system. 4th ed. Technical notes for use by the University of Cape Town. Cape Town: UCT, 2006; p. 35–43.
5. Kaplan ED, Hegarty CJ. Understanding GPS principles and applications. 2nd ed. Norwood, MA: Artech House, 2006; p. 304–328.
6. Wells D. Guide to GPS positioning. 2nd ed. Fredericton, New Brunswick: Canadian GPS Associates, 1987; p. 9.1–9.12.
7. Kaplan ED, Hegarty CJ. Understanding GPS principles and applications. 2nd ed. Norwood, MA: Artech House, 2006; p. 243–244.
8. Whitman D. Keeping our bearings. US News & World Report 2002;133(15).
9. Richardson D. GPS proves jam resistant. Armada International 2003;3.
10. Forssell B, Olsen TB. Jamming GPS: Susceptibility of some civil GPS receivers. GPS World. 2003.
11. Gerdan GP, Coombe LJ, Takac F. The effects of RF interference, multipath and signal obstruction on the GPS observables. Technical report number SDC95/1 prepared for the State Data Centre. Melbourne: Department of Land Information of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 1995; p. 7–13. Available from: http://www.citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download
12. Rash GD. GPS jamming in a laboratory environment for the naval air warfare weapons division [document on the Internet]. No date [cited 2010 Aug 01]. Available from: http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/nav/labjam.pdf
Published
2012-05-07
Section
Research Articles