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Randahl Fink

This map shows where Russia is currently attacking GPS signals in the EU.

According to this brilliantly researched article from Peter MΓΈller, Russia has a classified weapons system called Tobol, which is jamming GPS satellites from a base in Kaliningrad.

By using photos and articles from before the war, he has managed to piece together a surprisingly clear picture of what the Russians are doing.

(In Danish but translating it is absolutely worth it.)

nyheder.tv2.dk/udland/2024-04-

28 comments
Emil Jacobs - Collectifission

@randahl What surprises me is why the West isn't doing the same. Tit for tat. In fact, the West could easily disable their GLONASS network for huge swaths along the border.

Randahl Fink

@collectifission In war, hiding your capabilities is often better.

Emil Jacobs - Collectifission

@randahl True, but it would hugely help against the drones attacking Ukraine.

elpolacodesplegado

@collectifission
It would also "help" against Any civilian use in Western countries. Also, Western Electronic Warfare doctrine regards EW as a hostile act. Russia does not.
@randahl

Gabriel Pettier

@elpolacodesplegado @collectifission @randahl well, if EW is considered to be hostile, should we consider ourselves under attack? If so, maybe we should at least make that known to the kremlin.

richrants

@randahl @collectifission Yep, I thought the same. Make lemonade from those lemons by getting used to operating under EW.

But maybe we should be a bit childish and test the experimental Baltic RF link (BaRFlink) to transmit data between NE Poland and the Baltic states. Using the entire useful RF spectrum. With enough power to make the skies over Kaliningrad glow. Totally legit civilian use. πŸ˜„

Kyebr

@collectifission @randahl Maybe it's not possible. GLONASS could be hardened against this kind of jamming. It's new, which means they would have time and research to pour into it. Also, we can only see it affecting commercial flights. Military GPS poll much faster (well, read more like) but, I'm no expert.

David August

@Kyebr @collectifission @randahl days before russia began its full scale invasion of Ukraine, public and open sources were among the conjecture that russian forces would use ground based Loran systems to determine their position and would not rely on any space based ones like Glonass.

One imagines that like much of the russian invasion plans, that may not have panned out as expected.

gpsworld.com/russia-expected-t

David Cohen

@randahl That big dish looks like an inviting target to me.

Kirils [ENG]

@randahl Good guys Russia, motivating the EU to finally switch over to our own GNSS (Galileo).

matp92

@k
probably also a good time to improve all the software gps code in public devices to work better in spoofing and jaming conditions. and people and other using this info to verify info validity. the fact that plane gps are confused in a big part of the world is worrysome
@randahl

jbaggs

@matp92 @k @randahl It's a matter of signal strength. You can't "fix it in software" and all of the varying constellations are equally effected.

Something people get wrong about jamming is it is about overloading the receiver, not the transmitter.

Kristoff Bonne πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί πŸ‡§πŸ‡ͺ

@randahl OK, correct me if I am wrong, but most articles I have read mention that the main reason these jammers are there, is because Russia want to protect its militairy and economic infrastructure (oil, gas terminals) from attack by drones (as happened beginning of March this year).

From a militairy perspective, if these measures happen to affect civilians (from the other side), that is probably the last of their priorities.

That is not unlike how any army from any country would think, no?

Randahl Fink

@kristoff they are affecting GPS in half of Poland.

Kristoff Bonne πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί πŸ‡§πŸ‡ͺ

@randahl BTW. The nice thing about that map is it shows how the situation is changing over time. The interfence in Poland seems to have existed for about a month and then dissapeared again.
The problem in Estonia seems to have started much earlier.

You can also nicely see how it started in the area around Ukraine, then also included the Moskou region and then later into St-Petersburg.

But if this map is not sign that shows there is a full scale war going on in Euope, I don't know what is.

@randahl BTW. The nice thing about that map is it shows how the situation is changing over time. The interfence in Poland seems to have existed for about a month and then dissapeared again.
The problem in Estonia seems to have started much earlier.

You can also nicely see how it started in the area around Ukraine, then also included the Moskou region and then later into St-Petersburg.

Gord

@randahl tbh this is a "cyberattack" even though it deals with RF and not packets through copper and glass. I'd send a message in the form of a singular kinetic response package to send the message that we consider this jamming over the line and if they persist, we'll consider it an act of war.

Andreas Burger

@randahl is this not to be classified as offensive military action against nato members?

Randahl Fink

@aburgerabz I am sure that is constantly being evaluated in the Brussels HQ.

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