Western US To Experience GPS Disruptions Due To USAF GPS Jamming Tests

 

..."the US Air Force will be conducting combat tests in the western US which will involve the jamming of GPS, resulting in GPS being disrupted temporarily.

According to a report from Flying.com, “The NBAA Command Center reports the U.S. military will begin training exercises on the Nevada Test and Training Range between 0400Z until 0700Z daily. Training maneuvers will impact vast portions of the Western U.S. including California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana and New Mexico. FAA enroute ATC centers affected include Albuquerque (ZAB), Denver (ZDV), Los Angeles (ZLA), Salt Lake (ZLC), Oakland (ZOA) and Seattle (ZSE).”

The idea behind the GPS jamming is meant to simulate combat situations where the USAF might encounter situations where their GPS no longer works."

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2018/01/gps-disruption-during-usaf-...

https://www.flyingmag.com/upcoming-gps-outage-in-western-us-...

YOWZER!

Thanks for the head up on this...

--
Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!

Oh Boy!!!

Can't wait to read about all the people that are misdirected during this test period.

--
When you are dead, you don’t know that you are dead. It is only difficult for the others. It is the same when you are stupid.

And

what about commercial air traffic?

--
Nuvi 2797LMT, DriveSmart 50 LMT-HD, Using Windows 10. DashCam A108C with GPS.

I expect the times were

I expect the times were chosen for the lightest traffic. 0400Z is 1900/2000 WST/MST.

--
Frank DriveSmart66 37.322760, -79.511267

WOW

That's un-freaking believable that a disruption in GPS service over such a large area is allowed to happen without our elected political weenies saying anything. Guess they are more scared of the military complex than those that elected them.

--
I never get lost, but I do explore new territory every now and then.

Maybe,

Nobody told them. grin

--
"Everything I need can be found in the presence of God. Every. Single. Thing." Charley Hartmann 2/11/1956-6/11/2022

2 nd link

Melaqueman wrote:

what about commercial air traffic?

The 2nd links says what happens to commercial Flight, They may be grounded for a while

--
Bobkz - Garmin Nuvi 3597LMTHD/2455LMT/C530/C580- "Pain Is Fear Leaving The Body - Semper Fidelis"

The GPS System is primarily for Military use

We only get to use it on loan. That's why it is not pin point accurate for civilian use.

yes

Although the GPS system has been developed by military (USAF) since it's initial inception, the fact that it is so widely used in the civilian arena would make me think they should be a little worried about the collateral effect over such a widespread area, for a "military exercise". If something can go wrong, it will. Although suing the military would probably be an exercise in futility.

And as a side note, this year is scheduled for GPS to become more accurate, 30cm, or so if I remember correctly.

--
I never get lost, but I do explore new territory every now and then.

Usually a cone of effect

Here in New Mexico, GPS jamming tests have been carried out frequently from a site near Socorro for years (the NOTAMS are posted to public view). I believe those generally have employed a transmitter on the ground, with a widening cone of effect with rise in altitude.

Driving mostly near Albuquerque, and using GPS all the time I drive, I've never seen any effect from those tests. Nor have airplanes been falling out of our sky from the effects.

While the heavy-breathing may sound to some like a wide area outage, I strongly suspect that the truth is that they intend to operate point jammers at locations not disclosed in advance across the very broad areas mentioned.

It is remarkably easy to disrupt GPS locally (the signal is quite weak, and has only a few dB of margin for detection, so a nearby jammer does not need much power at all if it is pointing the right way). It is quite another matter to jam over a broad area.

--
personal GPS user since 1992

 

Spoofing GPS is not difficult for the technically inclined. Yet folks still insist on relying on the civilian GPS signal without reservation for safety related needs.

Thanks

Thanks for letting us know.

May have

May have been affected by this testing yesterday in Arizona. Early in the morning I was traveling into Phoenix on Hwy 60 from the east valley and my DriveLuxe 50 lost satellite signal over and over to the point where it was unusable.

Today I drove the same route at about the same time and the GPS held a strong sat.signal for the whole trip.

--
Nuvi 350, 760, 1695LM, 3790LMT, 2460LMT, 3597LMTHD, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, DriveSmart 61, Garmin Drive 52, Garmin Backup Camera 40 and TomTom XXL540s.