Civil Aviation

*A Spirent white paper for developers and integrators of GNSS receivers* No longer the preserve of powerful state actors, spoofing is a growing threat for GNSS-enabled equipment. Understanding how spoofing works and how to mitigate the potential impact of an attack is a key concern for developers of both commercial and military/government applications.

The reliance on GNSS signals for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) has made radio frequency (RF) interference from signal jamming a growing threat across various industries. Whether intentional or unintentional, jamming can significantly impact the performance of GNSS receivers, including those used for safety-critical and liability-critical operations. Therefore, developers and integrators of GNSS receivers must understand the risks presented by jamming and implement mitigation measures to protect the receivers and their users.

The use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is expanding across various industries, but with it comes an increasing threat of GNSS jamming and spoofing. Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Germany's research center for aeronautics and space, recognized the need to develop anti-jam and anti-spoof technology to protect critical applications like commercial aviation, shipping, and autonomous vehicles. DLR developed GALANT, an advanced system that uses nulling and beamforming to counter interference.