Russian radio -electronic attacks. Poland is helpless in the face of GPS interference?

Polsa’s vice president confirms that the problem of disturbing satellite navigation signal, including the so -called “jamming” (jamming) and “spofing” (falsification of position), is well known and associated with the Russian side activity on the eastern border of Poland. These types of activities, as indicated by a representative of the Polish Space Agency, are not new – they were previously used mainly in the areas covered by war. Currently, however, their extension is also observed to countries not directly involved in armed conflicts, which is a new trend in the use of radio -electronic combat tools.

– disturbances, or for the so -called jamming, i.e. jamming or spoofing, or cheating position, this is not a new phenomenon. Of course, they most often concerned areas where war operations were carried out, military operations, in order to make the opponent to make the opponent to make it difficult – says Col. Marcin Mazur.

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Poland helpless for GPS signal interference?

The Polish Space Agency, as Mazur points out, currently has no rights or adequate technical tools to directly counteract GPS signal interference. Pursuant to applicable regulations, these competences are assigned to specialized state services and agencies. The agency’s role is, however, the analysis and development of software that could support civilian users, in particular in the sectors of air and sea transport, in responding to this type of incident.

– As an agency, we do not have tools, we are not entitled to have tools. There are dedicated services and agencies that have instruments to record the frequency of disturbing – says Col. Mazur.

Poland without its own satellite navigation system

The key challenge raised by Mazur is the lack of its own national satellite navigation system. Currently, Poland uses commercial satellite solutions and international systems such as American GPS or European Galileo. National projects are also developed – for example, a contract signed with the European Space Agency for the construction of the constellation of microsatelites for observing the Earth, the implementation of which is scheduled for 2027. Navigation systems, due to their complexity and strategic nature, remain within the range of few countries or associations.

According to the Vice President of the Agency, the use of Galileo partly increases resistance to interference – the European system works on other frequencies than GPS, which makes it difficult to effectively drown out the signal. Despite this, Mazur emphasizes that full sovereignty in the field of satellite navigation requires having its own national system, built and controlled by Polish entities.

How to fight GPS signal interference?

Polsa Vice President points out that although tools are available to neutralize GPS interference, their use by civil users is limited – standard navigation receivers are not prepared to work in conditions of strong jamming. The use of various navigation systems remains an alternative, but in the case of smaller units – such as yachts or small aircraft – the lack of advanced solutions makes them particularly vulnerable to the effects of interference.

– There are tools that allow you to neutralize such information. This is difficult for civil users who often have built -in navigation receivers – he says.

The colonel notes that the alternative is the use of the Galileo system, which, thanks to various frequencies, is less susceptible to interference.

Poland, according to Mazur’s statements, implements projects aimed at increasing independence in the area of ​​satellite technology, both for civil and military needs. The cooperation of the Ministry of National Defense with the civil sector is aimed at determining and implementing priorities in this area. The process of building your own solutions, however, requires time, investment and precise definition of needs.