There Russia’s new weapon puts ship and plane traffic at riskbut at least this time we can confidently say that this is not an attackbut a simple side effect of some defense strategies. Everything originates from the strategies of disturbance of GPS signals that Russia deploys to defend its assets, which however have enough power to interfere with the signals of ships and planes near the Baltic Sea.
There is no safety alarm, but this does not mean that the inconveniences in the area are increasing more and more air and naval circulationespecially starting from December 2023. Of course, the techniques used could be refined to serve much less noble purposes than the defense of one’s borders, but for the moment there is no concrete threat in this sense.
Also because Russia is certainly not the only world power to rely on interference signals to protect themselves, but also to organize particular transports for military purposes and thus go unnoticed. The nation has already demonstrated its great capabilities in the past, but in fact it has not carried out many of the attacks it had threatened.
The new Russian weapon that threatens ships and planes
L’unpredictability of Russia and its leader always inspires great fear, especially every time his capabilities are actually made known. In this specific case, however, we are faced with real collateral damage rather than a intimidating effect wanted.
The Defense intelligence service recently published the assessment of the threat associated with navigation disturbances on the Baltic Seabut the issue was also addressed by theNational Emergency Management Agency Danish. The experts focused on the problems encountered in the movement of planes and ships Denmark And Swedenwhere on more than one occasion the interruption of the radio signal created considerable disorder, sometimes even requiring a suspension of traffic.
The researchers, also based on station measurements, found that the problem is due to the interference of radio signals, explaining that very strong emission can drown out some GPS signals. Expert Henning Heiselberg explained that something similar happens when you can’t hear the interlocutor in a very noisy room, to help understand the mechanism.
This has been traced back to Baltic Sea and the techniques used by Russia to protect borders and assets from possible threats, especially in the context of military operations. In particular, the disturbance should come from the areas of Kaliningrad And St.Pietroburgowhere there is growing activity.
According to experts there is no vital risk for the moment, in the sense that there is no danger of collisions, shipwrecks and plane crashes. However, the interruption of the signal remains a phenomenon to be kept under control, considering the inconvenience caused to neighboring countries, also in economic and logistical terms. On the other hand, it is very likely that these techniques will become more widespread and efficient over time, as technology finds new tools to circumvent them.
The only worrying aspect at the moment concerns a particular technique, the so-called GPS signal spoofing. Normally, in fact, the GPS signal is interrupted so as to obstruct traffic (in this case we speak of jamming), but this should be noted immediately. The spoofinginstead, causes GPS signals to be sent wrong. In the worst case scenario, ships and planes may even appear to be in a different place from the real one. Nothing that the crews are not prepared to handle, but it is clear that it is an instrument that can be truly fearsome.
It should be reiterated, however, that Russia is certainly not alone in using these methods and capabilities to protect its assets. This is a predictable evolution of world powers which will be increasingly refined for all with technological progress. It is undeniable, however, that there are, and will increasingly be, major difficulties for planes and ships approaching hot spots.
