DefenceVRDefenceVR
Back to glossary
Glossary entry

GPS spoofing

Also known as: GNSS spoofing, Satellite-navigation spoofing

A form of electronic attack that transmits false satellite-navigation signals, causing a receiver to compute a fabricated position.

GPS spoofing is an electronic-warfare technique in which an attacker transmits counterfeit GPS (or other GNSS) signals strong enough to overpower the legitimate satellite signals at a receiver. The receiver locks onto the false signal and computes a fabricated position. Unlike GPS jamming — which simply denies the receiver any signal — spoofing is actively misleading.

For a drone or guided weapon, GPS spoofing can be catastrophic. The aircraft believes it is in a known location and flies a planned route that, in fact, takes it elsewhere. Russian forces have demonstrated GPS spoofing at scale in Ukraine; Chinese EW units operate similar capabilities at the LAC; Iranian forces have famously spoofed a US RQ-170 into landing in Iranian territory in 2011.

The training implication is that drone operators must learn to recognise a spoofed GPS lock before it causes a route error. The signs are subtle — small inconsistencies between INS-derived position and reported GPS position, sudden jumps in computed velocity, terrain-versus-GPS-altitude discrepancies. Recognising them requires reps. Reps require synthetic training, because legal live spoofing exercises are spectrum-constrained and rare.

Engage

Bring the simulator
to your unit.

On-site evaluation for Indian Army formations, procurement officers and training schools. We deploy the kit to your location — standalone headsets, physical RC, full theatre library, instructor brief included.