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Civilian airliners arriving at Beirut's airport are having to use alternatives to GPS to help them land because of jamming and “spoofing” blamed on Israel, which risks interfering with flight navigation.
Since the onset of the war on Gaza and the related conflict in south Lebanon, Israel has admitted to increasing GPS jamming in the region in a bid to thwart attacks by Hamas and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Earlier this week a Turkish Airlines flight ran into difficulties as it began its descent into Beirut because it was still using GPS navigation. It circled the airport for around 40 minutes before having to return to Turkey.
The alternatives to GPS for landing are completely safe, but the jamming and spoofing – which involves tricking the aircraft's receiver into calculating a false position that could send the pilot off course – add yet another complication for a region in conflict.
“If they don't use the GPS signal, they will be using the ground-based equipment … which is not affected by any spoofing,” said an industry insider.
The problem of military electronic warfare disrupting aircraft navigation has been faced in the Middle East before, in southern Turkey and other parts of the world.
Electronic warfare often involves jamming enemy communications and navigation systems – typically to interfere with drones and missiles that use GPS to find targets.
While this area of warfare has been in development for decades, it is only in recent conflicts that it has had a major impact on civilian aircraft.
European civil aviation authorities warned of an increase in GPS jamming in February 2022, during the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the problem persists near the conflict zone.
Since October 7, there has been a rise in GPS spoofing. Whereas a pilot will immediately know if they are being affected by GPS jamming, spoofing can be harder to spot, said Mohammed Aziz, a retired pilot and adviser to the chairman of Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's flag carrier.
Last November, the EU's Aviation Safety Agency issued a bulletin warning that it noticed an increase in the jamming and spoofing of global navigation satellite systems – with major areas including the south-eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Black Sea.
As a result, Lebanon's civil aviation agency told airline companies to stop using GPS and switch to conventional ground-based navigation systems. The radar used by air traffic controllers does not rely on satellites.
“The problem is the pilot might not notice [spoofing] if he is relying entirely on GPS,” said Mr Aziz. He said pilots should ensure “the signal you have on the GPS corresponds to the signal you are getting from the ground navigation, make sure you report your position to the air-traffic controller so they can confirm your position.”
The EU's safety agency (ASA) recommended that air operators “remain prepared to revert to a non-GNSS [global navigation satellite systems] arrival procedure where appropriate”.
Earlier this month Lebanon's transport minister, Ali Hamieh, warned that GPS jamming “poses a significant risk to all airlines” as he pointed the finger of blame at Israel.
The Lebanese government has submitted a complaint to the UN's Security Council over the jamming and its “recklessness”.
If GNSS is not fully functioning, problems also include inconsistent flight guidance – which can result in route deviations – as well as the inability to use it for navigation.
But while there are alternatives to GPS, the loss of it is still felt by pilots.
“The aircraft these days depend on the GPS so much. Using the GPS relieves the pilot and his first officer from a load of work during the flight. This is why lots of errors are occurring during flights – like the Turkish Airlines [flight] … aircraft are still using GPS,” said the insider.
Middle East Airlines is used to landing in Beirut without GPS. It has used its instrument landing system – which utilises radio beams – to land there since the onset of the Syrian Civil War. But that system does require additional work from the pilot.
“The problem is if you are not aware. We are used to the area, we used to fly on the radar to come into Beirut,” said Mr Aziz. “But if you are from outside and if you don't notice [spoofing], this is a problem for a pilot that comes to Beirut once every six months.”
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
