Civil aviation and maritime operators face a growing threat from GPS jamming and spoofing that can disrupt satellite navigation and put safety at risk. That was the message from a coalition of industry groups in a recent letter to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Defense (DOD) highlighting what experts say is a rising danger.
The warning underscores how interference, once confined to military conflict zones, is spilling into civilian operations and prompting calls for faster US action to address the potential threat.
Airlines for America, the Air Line Pilots Association, the National Business Aviation Association, and the US Chamber of Commerce were among the 14 signatories of the September 5 letter. In it, they warned that GPS interference poses “a growing threat to aviation and maritime safety and commerce” and urged both departments to strengthen defenses against GPS jamming.
The letter pointed to weaknesses in the US GPS network. Nine of 32 GPS satellites lack redundant subsystems and could stop functioning if a critical component fails. The Next Generation Operational Control System, in development since 2010, is still incomplete and cannot yet manage newer GPS signals designed for civil aviation. Without upgrades, the groups cautioned, the US risks falling behind Europe and China in preventing attacks.
GPS interference has spread from conflict zones into civilian air routes in Europe and the Middle East, raising concerns that US operations could soon be affected as well.
The system’s vulnerability stems from its reliance on weak satellite signals. Jamming overwhelms those signals with stronger radio transmissions, preventing receivers from maintaining a link to GPS. Spoofing is more advanced: it creates counterfeit signals that mimic satellites but deliver false data. If those signals are stronger than the genuine ones, a receiver can produce incorrect position or timing information.
Jammers range from small, inexpensive devices sold illegally online to powerful state-run systems. At the low end, handheld units can block GPS within a few hundred feet or more, and are sometimes used by truck drivers, smugglers, or fishing vessels to hide their movements. At the other extreme, military electronic warfare systems operated by nations such as Russia and China can project high-power interference across entire regions, combining jamming and spoofing to potentially disrupt aviation and maritime operations on a large scale.
For pilots and ship crews, the consequences can be immediate. Jamming can disable systems that depend on GPS and force reliance on backup procedures. Spoofing can be more insidious, tricking operators into believing they are in the wrong place and creating the risk of potentially dangerous navigational errors.
European airlines and private jet crews have reported disruptions over the Baltic and eastern Mediterranean that officials attribute to Russian military activity. Shipping operators have documented spoofing near ports that made vessels appear miles from their actual locations on electronic charts. Analysts estimate more than 700 jamming or spoofing incidents occur worldwide each day, underscoring how widespread the problem has become.
DOT and DOD have not issued a public response to the industry letter. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), however, has acknowledged the need for upgrades. In June 2025, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told the Senate Commerce Committee that the National Airspace System “needs massive upgrading.” A Government Accountability Office review also found that DOT lacks a fully documented process for identifying and responding to GPS interference.
Industry groups continue to press for action. The GPS Innovation Alliance has called for a government strategy to address interference, noting that GPS underpins aviation, maritime shipping, agriculture, and emergency services. US airlines rely on GPS for more than 27,000 flights each day.
So far, the most severe disruptions remain outside the US. But with interference now impacting civil operations, industry leaders warn it is only a matter of time before US flights and commerce could be directly affected.
