In January 2025, a routine Ryanair flight from London to Vilnius, Lithuania, was forced to abort its descent and divert to Warsaw after experiencing unexplained GPS interference at just 850 feet. This was not an isolated incident. Over the last three months of 2024, more than 800 cases of GPS jamming were reported in Lithuanian airspace, and similar disruptions have been noted across Estonia and Finland. NATO officials and security experts have raised concerns over Russia’s alleged deployment of electronic warfare tools aimed at disrupting satellite navigation in the region—though Moscow denies involvement.
The growing prevalence of GPS jamming and spoofing underscores a broader issue: Critical infrastructure worldwide remains highly vulnerable to asymmetric attacks on positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems. These threats extend beyond aviation, with potential consequences for financial markets, telecommunications, energy grids, and national defense. As global security landscapes shift, adversaries increasingly leverage electronic warfare (EW) tactics to undermine Western military and economic stability.
The Strategic Importance of GPS and Its Vulnerabilities
GPS is more than just a tool for navigation—it serves as the backbone of modern infrastructure, enabling:
Global Financial Transactions – Timestamps from atomic clocks in GPS satellites synchronize banking networks, stock markets, and high-frequency trading.
Telecommunications – Mobile networks and internet data centers rely on GPS for precise timing synchronization.
Power Grid Stability – Energy transmission systems require nanosecond-level timing accuracy to regulate electricity distribution across vast networks.
Military Operations – Modern warfare depends on GPS-guided munitions, reconnaissance drones, and battlefield coordination.
A widespread GPS outage would cripple critical industries, with the UK government estimating the economic impact at £1.4 billion per day. Given this dependency, GPS jamming and spoofing are now recognized as serious national security threats.
The challenge is that GPS signals are inherently weak. Transmitted from satellites 20,000 kilometers above Earth, even small-scale electronic warfare tools can easily overpower them. Low-cost GPS jammers, available on the black market, can disrupt signals across a radius of several miles. State actors with advanced EW capabilities—such as Russia and China—can interfere with GPS over much larger areas, affecting military and civilian operations.
Asymmetric Warfare: A New Front in Electronic Disruption
GPS jamming fits within a broader asymmetrical warfare strategy, where adversaries target critical vulnerabilities without engaging in direct military conflict. This approach has been evident in:
Ukraine – Russian EW units have successfully jammed GPS signals used by Ukrainian drones and guided missile systems.
The Arctic and Baltic Regions – NATO military exercises have been repeatedly disrupted by coordinated Russian jamming operations.
In the South China Sea, Chinese forces have been accused of spoofing GPS signals and misleading commercial and military vessels.
While GPS disruption is a key element of electronic warfare, it is just one facet of a larger, emerging threat landscape. Another primary concern is the vulnerability of undersea telecommunications cables.
Undersea Telecom Cables: The Other Critical Infrastructure Risk
A vast network of fiber-optic cables beneath the ocean's surface carries over 95% of the world’s internet traffic. These undersea cables are the lifeline of the global financial system, military communications, and critical business operations. They represent a high-impact, low-cost attack vector in modern hybrid warfare if targeted.
Recent reports suggest that Russian submarines and specialized deep-sea vessels have been operating near key transatlantic cables, raising concerns over possible covert sabotage operations. Cutting or tapping these cables would have severe consequences:
Disrupting Global Internet Traffic – A successful attack on a few key junctions could create blackouts affecting entire nations.
Economic Fallout – Financial markets and interbank communications could face crippling delays.
Military and Intelligence Compromise – Secure government communications rely on these cables, and adversaries may seek to intercept transmissions.
Other Critical Infrastructure at Risk
Beyond GPS and undersea cables, several other highly critical infrastructure systems share similar vulnerabilities and must be protected from asymmetric threats:
Power Grids and Energy Infrastructure
Power grids rely heavily on real-time synchronization and remote monitoring, making them a prime target for cyber and electronic warfare attacks. Disruptions in GPS-based timing could:
Cause widespread blackouts by throwing off synchronization between regional power networks.
Prevent real-time load balancing, leading to cascading failures in electricity distribution.
Impact oil and gas pipelines, which use GPS for flow regulation and safety monitoring.
In addition, cyberattacks on energy infrastructure—such as the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack—demonstrate how adversaries can target these systems to cause economic and security crises.
Satellite Communications and Surveillance Systems
Satellites are critical for military intelligence, global positioning, and secure communications. The rise of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, GPS jamming, and space-based cyber threats puts these systems at risk. Potential consequences include:
Loss of secure military communications during conflicts.
Blind spots in early warning systems for missile defense.
Disruptions to civilian emergency response networks reliant on satellite imagery and coordination.
Transportation and Logistics Networks
The global supply chain depends on precise logistics coordination, which is managed via GPS. Attacks on transportation infrastructure could:
Paralyze aviation and shipping routes, causing economic shocks.
Disrupt rail and autonomous vehicle operations.
Cause misrouting of military supply convoys, delaying critical reinforcements in wartime.
Given these vulnerabilities, resilient alternatives to GPS, undersea cables, and other critical infrastructure must be developed.
Building Resilient Infrastructure: Strategic Next Steps
Given the growing threat landscape, nations must prioritize PNT resilience and telecom security. Key strategic actions include:
Developing Alternative Navigation and Timing Systems
To reduce reliance on GPS, researchers are exploring quantum-based alternatives:
Portable Optical Atomic Clocks – Ultra-precise clocks allow ships, aircraft, and military units to navigate autonomously.
Inertial Navigation Systems (INS): Combining accelerometers and gyroscopes, INS can provide GPS-free navigation, which is critical for submarines and aircraft.
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Constellations – Unlike traditional GPS satellites, LEO constellations (such as SpaceX’s Starlink) are more complex to jam due to their higher signal strength and redundancy.
Strengthening Undersea Cable Security
Enhanced Physical Security – Deploying underwater drones and patrols to monitor key cable locations.
Redundant and Diversified Routes – Expanding alternative land-based fiber routes to mitigate single points of failure.
Encryption and Cybersecurity Measures – Strengthening data transmission security to prevent unauthorized interceptions.
Securing Power and Communications Networks
Implementing alternative timekeeping and synchronization technologies for power grids.
Strengthening cyber defenses against state-sponsored ransomware attacks and grid-disruption malware.
Deploying AI-based anomaly detection systems to monitor for irregular network behaviors.
Conclusion: A Critical Window for Action
The increasing frequency of GPS jamming incidents, electronic warfare, and undersea cable threats highlights the urgent need for nations to fortify their critical infrastructure. The era of relying solely on GPS and unsecured global networks is over—security professionals must drive the development and adoption of resilient, diversified, and secure alternatives.
As history shows, technological advancements in navigation and timekeeping have reshaped global trade, warfare, and security. Today, we stand at a similar crossroads. The nations that invest in next-generation PNT and telecom security will protect their sovereignty and shape the future balance of power in an increasingly contested digital and geopolitical landscape.