March 07, 2022
Russian threats a reminder of the need to protect GPS
Video and images of Russia’s illegitimate attempt to deny Ukrainian sovereignty have shocked the world – especially the gruesome attacks in civilian urban areas. But some of the war’s most strategic impacts may well occur in less physically observable domains: space and cyberspace.
The United States and its allies remain vulnerable to spoofing, denial and attack. While Russia’s ground forces may not have delivered the swift stroke Putin expected, its cyber capabilities could fare far better in a future fight and the West needs to be ready.
As we continue to observe Russia escalate this conflict, we must be prepared to understand the threats to our Global Positioning System capabilities, actively defend the GPS system, and work with partners and allies to creatively architect a way to deny hostile actors like Russia the benefits of jamming GPS.
While Russia’s ground forces may not have delivered the swift stroke Putin expected, its cyber capabilities could fare far better in a future fight and the West needs to be ready.
Russia has long identified U.S. reliance on space-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) as an asymmetric vulnerability to be denied early in any conflict with the West.Moscow assesses that the U.S. and its allies are reliant on GPS to conduct effective military operations while Russia can continue to rely on its own space-based PNT system, GLONASS, to provide them support. Recently, HawkEye360, a U.S.-based company which uses satellites to collect radio-frequency signals and provides data analytics services, reported extensive GPS interference activity over Ukraine.
Read the full article from Space News.
More from CNAS
-
Video
Technology & National Security
Ukraine Is Opening Putin’s Military Secrets to the WorldUkraine has launched a new platform, called 'TrophyLab', sharing research into captured Russian weapons with allies. Russian UAV expert and CNA and Center for a New American S...
By Samuel Bendett
-
Podcast
Technology & National Security
The White House’s Secret AI Rules + the State of Model Alignment With METR’s Chris Painter + the Final Hot Mess ExpressThen, yet another report details new incidents in which A.I. agents have gone rogue. Chris Painter, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and the ...
By Chris Painter
-
Podcast
Technology & National Security
AI Roundup: AI Going Rogue, Music Labels Want Popular AI Music GuidelinesDaniel Remler, senior fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), joined AirTalk to discuss the White House's me...
By Daniel Remler
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
The Cure for Russia’s Labor Shortage Is Worse Than the DiseaseAltogether, while Russia’s labor crisis is becoming a structural constraint on the Kremlin’s wartime economy, domestic stability, and long-term geopolitical ambitions, its res...
By Samuel Bendett
