In a response to numerous instances of Global Positioning System (GPS) denial in the war that broke out on Oct. 7 2023, the Israeli defence industry is working hard to find solutions.
Since the start of the war between Israel and the two Iranian proxies – the Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas in Gaza - GPS denial in war zones by the Hezbollah and by Israel have become the norm. This, according to experts, is a very clear wake up call to users of GPS-based weapon systems.
GPS denial events caused by the Russian forces in Syria have accelerated the development of systems that are intended to make Israeli military systems immune to such disruptions. Some are already in operation while others are being tested.
Maj. General (Ret.) Giora Eiland, who served in the Israeli deefnce forces (IDF) and is a former head of the Israeli National Security Council, told GBP that the transfer of advanced western weapon systems to Iran can cause a problem. "When a country like Iran lays its hands on an advanced U.S-made weapon system like the JDAM bomb, there is a chance that it can find the weak spots of such a system. In the case of JDAM, the GPS navigation system can be affected with advanced GPS denial technologies like the ones developed by Russia."
Maj, General (Ret.) Issac Ben Israel, who was the head of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) Operations Research Branch, Analysis and Assessment Division, as well as the Head of Military R&D in Israel Defense Forces and Ministry of Defense, told GBP that the real meaning of such transfer of weapon systems to Iran lies in the details.
"In the case of GPS denial and immune systems, the question to be asked if which is a step ahead of the other. If the Russians managed to be one step ahead, then the transfer of this technology is meaningful "
Israeli made weapon systems that use GPS as a guidance sensor also use other methods that are immune to interferences. By analyzing the Russian GPS denial systems operated in Syria, Israel acted to be better ready for aggressive GPS denial. Israeli defence sources said that Iran has "an impressive" capability in reverse engineering. This is because of the international sanctions that blocked the sale of advanced weapon systems to the country.
According to sources, the Iranian Shahed-191 drone is believed to be based on the design of the American made RQ-170 Sentinel drone. The advanced unmanned system was brought down by Iran in 2011.
The proliferation of Russian-made GPS jamming systems in the Middle East accelerated the process of equipping the Israeli Air Force's aircraft with anti-jamming systems. In 2021 , the IAF revealed that advanced anti-jamming systems developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have been integrated into advanced platforms used by its different squadrons.
According to IAI, the ADA Anti-Jam GPS System is designed to protect GPS/GNSS navigation from jamming. The company says that the system has been integrated into advanced platforms used by the IAF, including into F-16 fighter jets and various types of UAS. The ADA System has demonstrated operational maturity and is in use by a number of international customers on various airborne, land, and marine platforms.
IAI says that ADA is combat-proven in providing immunity against GPS jammers, after it demonstrated its effectiveness in Operation " Guardian of the walls" in Gaza in 2021.
Israel first suffered from GNSS denial when Russian forces in Syria operated some powerful jamming systems. The war in Ukraine also created a wide area where the GNSS signals could not be trusted.
The capability of armed forces to deny the GNSS service have forced countries to invest in technologies aimed at enabling their military forces to continue their reliance on GNSS based navigation. The GPS navigation system is operated by the U.S and uses a dedicated constellation of medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites.
GPS Anti-Jamming systems protect against deliberate jamming and interference for GPS receivers. When the GPS signal gets to the surface of the earth, it is feeble and can be overpowered by stronger radio frequency (RF) energy. An unprotected Code receiver can be interfered with by a tiny jammer with a power of around 10 Watts for up to 30 kilometers (line of sight).
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