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13/03/2025 6views 0likes
High above the Arctic Circle, on the rugged terrain of Andøya, three ESA radionavigation engineers take a rare moment to unwind with a game of shuffleboard. Outside, sheep graze under the shimmering northern lights, a serene backdrop to their demanding mission: test how navigation technologies withstand interference signals. With 100TB of data collected over 5 days, their efforts promise to strengthen the reliability of satellite navigation for the benefit of us all.
Interference is one of the major challenges in satellite navigation. Jamming (broadcasting on the same frequency as satnav signals to disrupt them), spoofing (sending fake signals to mislead users) and meaconing (rebroadcasting intercepted signals in a misleading way) can disrupt critical systems and pose a serious security risk. Attacks affecting aviation, for example, are being registered daily, also in Europe. For example, Finnair has suspended flights to Tartu, Estonia, due to severe interferences.
To learn more about interferences, how to tackle them and how to make systems more robust, hundreds of participants meet each year near the village of Bleik, on the island of Andøya, Norway, for the world’s largest real-life jamming test: Jammertest.
For the second consecutive year, ESA Navigation joined Jammertest next to authorities, international technology suppliers and researchers, to experiment with navigation equipment and evaluate its response to different satnav hacking techniques.
This year’s test catalogue was extensive, with low and high-power jammers, test cases on aviation and UAVs, a variety of transmitter antenna systems, stationary simulators and a moving spoofer. The experiments spanned three test areas.
ESA’s sophisticated setup included a testbed navigation van equipped with three types of antennae: high-precision, antenna array and dual polarisation (all manufactured in the EU) as well as a fixed station.
Antennas and receivers in the field
The data collected at Jammertest can now be replayed in ESA’s Navigation Lab (NavLab) in ESTEC to carry out research on signal vulnerabilities and countermeasures, to test commercial solutions and to validate innovative systems.
Internally, the information collected supports testing of Galileo services being developed, such as Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA), and is used on several lines of R&D to advance navigation technologies. The data is also offered to ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP) collaborators for testing purposes.
Testbed vans as-a-service
Testing at Jammertest
ESA’s NavLab offers state-of-the-art testing facilities and consultancy services to support third-party navigation and telecommunications testing campaigns for industry, academia and institutions from ESA Member States.
Among its many resources, NavLab provides access to two fully equipped testbed vans, designed for field testing of GNSS receivers in diverse environments, from open skies to dense urban areas. These mobile labs are fitted with cutting edge technology to collect, process and store data.
As part of this service, the team supported the testing of third-party devices at Jammertest. One of the solutions tested was ASPIS, a novel artificial intelligence-based solution for real-time GNSS spoofing detection, developed by WAY4WARD. The team also supported National Instruments with the collection of raw data using the company’s high-end array antenna system.
If you are interested in using ESA’s NavLab testing and consultancy services, fill out the contact form on the Consultancy and Testing page.
Events like Jammertest play a crucial role in enhancing satnav robustness, contributing to a better understanding of interference and fostering the development of countermeasures by academia, companies and agencies. In parallel, ESA is working on several initiatives to make satnav more robust and resilient. These include the continuous evolution of EGNOS and Galileo, along with demonstrator missions aimed at exploring the benefits of a multilayer approach to satnav, several lines of R&D and NAVISP activities that are pushing the boundaries of innovation to improve system resilience.
ESA team at Jammertest 2024
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