The Indian Air Force has clarified that “every mission was planned in Myanmar as planned” after the report came out that its aircraft faced the GPS “Spoofing” or “Hand” in the last month.
The Air Force confirmed that the Divisional International Airport had issued a notam (notice to the airman) on “the possibility of an insult GPS availability”. The Air Force of India said, “All appropriate precautions were taken to meet for such situations. IAF crews are capable of handling such unavailability, while flight safety and specified work or achievement of missions. Accordingly, each mission was obtained as a plan.”
The possibility of GPS availability of GPS availability humiliated by the Divisional International Airport was published as a notam and was placed to fulfill all precautions for such situations.
IAF crews are able to handle such unavailability, ensuring the safety of flight and achievement …
– Indian Air Force (@iaf_mcc) 14 April, 2025
GPS Jaming/Spoofing – Danger in the sky
The Indian Air Force has deployed C -17 Globmaster III heavy transport aircraft and C -130J Hercules to provide relief material to Myanmar as part of Operation Brahma.
IAF C-17 Globemaster III transports relief material to Myanmar
The aircraft rely on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to know its position, often called GPS or Global Positioning System. These systems use satellites to determine the position of a receiver.
In an aircraft, the obtained position is broadcast for ground stations, air traffic controllers or other aircraft, using automated dependent monitoring-broadcast (Ads-B).
GPS intervention is of two types – carts and spuofing. Conditions may seem interchangeable, but they have a completely different effect on the aircraft.
GPS jamming involves saturating the receiver with unknown signals, making them useless. Jaming blocks signals with radio intervention to prevent a receiver from finding its location.
This can occur either naturally through solar storms or other natural intervention, but a growing trend is seen, where aircraft struggle-hit areas damage the GPS decline, indicating human intervention.
GPS signal from an aircraft travel long distances for the receiver of the satellite, and they usually have low power. In jamming, a transmitter, which can even fit in one hand, sends a high or similar frequency signal to the receiver in the aircraft, confuses the cockpit about the aircraft position
GPS spoofing is more dangerous and purely intentional. Spufing trick is a GPS receiver thinking that it is elsewhere by sending fake signals.
In a normal condition, the GPS receiver of the aircraft gets position, navigation and time from a constellation of satellites. In spoofing, a ground-based platform sends a look-alik fake signal, which can be explained as valid by the receiver. These signs, when decoded, have false information and aircraft time.
GPS reception during general ops, carts and spupping.
Photo Credit: Image Source: Opsgroup
The satellite signals consist of low power, therefore, shakes people with ground-based signal satellites and then decoded fake information.
Is it dangerous?
A report by Opsgroup, a group of professional pilots, flight dispatches, schedules and controllers, marked the issue on GPS Spoofing incidents, stating that massive military equipment used for electronic war is being used for spupping.
Myanmar has been facing a civil war since 2021, when military jute seized power in a coup, causing a conflict between the rebel groups and the army. NOTAM, which was referred to by the Air Force in its statement, meant that they were informed of a possible threat that could affect flight operations.
The biggest concern is that the humiliated functionality of the ground proximity warning system (GPWS) – an advanced system in an aircraft that alerts pilots. If the flight path can put them in the proximity of a barrier like mountains, buildings, etc., GPS can confuse the spoofing cockpit, sometimes a flight to false sound.
The risk of controlled flight in terrain accidents, where the aircraft fly into an obstacle, unknown to losing control, grows with GPS spoofing. It can also direct the aircraft to fly to a restricted military area or conflict–hit regions, which can make it unsafe for a ground attack.
The Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) is an aircraft safety system that uses GPS and onboard sensors to provide pilots with real -time audio and visual alerts about its position relative to the runway and taxiway. GPS Spoofing may force it to prevent it from working.
Experienced area
Almost all GPS spoofing events are taking place in conflict–regions or areas with high military presence. The purpose of the electronic war is to target hostile drones working on GPS, but it is not clear that citizens aircraft or military aircraft providing relief material are deliberately targeted.
A flightradar24 gps jamming map The aircraft from yesterday showed high intervention in the GPS of the aircraft, the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, the eastern parts of Myanmar and the war-hit regions of Russia and Ukraine.
The highest level of GPS spoofing is concentrated in specific areas of the Middle East, covered Israel, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. Countries are actively involved in conflict. The region is looking at the increasing use of drones in war against anti -unmanned and militant organizations relying unmanned aircraft to exclude strategic goals. Conflict areas like Russia, Ukraine and Black Sea region are places where high level GPS spoofing/jamming is being reported.
First series of GPS Spoofing Incidents took place in September 2023 in the region of North Iraq centered on Baghdad. Some aircraft were left unable to navigate independently after the Spuling event, requiring the ATC vector. The watches of the aircraft were showing the wrong time.
In 2023, the Civil Aviation Regulator, DGCA said that civilian aircraft could sometimes be blind in some parts of the Middle East. The purpose of DGCA advisor was to alert the airlines of the nature of the danger and how to answer it.
Parliament in March It was reported that many airlines reported GPS intervention and spoofing cases while working in and around Amritsar. The region is close to the border, and incidents in the past have been reported where Pakistan’s drones have been used for smuggling weapons, drugs.
The aircraft, which affects the aircraft navigation system, occurs the most frequent in the border areas of Amritsar and Jammu between November 2023 and February 2025.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Muralidhar Mohol told the Lok Sabha that during this period 465 incidents of GPS intervention and spoofing were reported.
These events include efforts to manipulate or block GPS signals, which can mislead the navigation system used by the aircraft, he said.