GPS jamming and spoofing have become the new normal across the Middle East during the Iran war, causing a surge in interest for companies offering alternatives.
Shawn Usman, founder and chief executive of Washington-based company Rhea Space Activity (RSA), is fielding a lot of that curiosity. He is also an astrophysicist and former intelligence official.
“We definitely have seen an increase in demand for our product, which is a celestial navigation product which looks at stars to get orientation,” Mr Usman said. RSA's algorithm, which it acquired from Nasa, is used within the technology as “the bread and butter”, making it all possible, he added.
Mr Usman said RSA had contracts with the US and UK militaries, and before the Iran conflict, the war in Ukraine initially piqued interest as Russia sought to jam Ukrainian GPS systems.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, smartphone users, maritime companies and pilots throughout the region have experienced problems with navigation systems. GPS jamming is often used to try to make access to navigation systems impossible, whereas GPS spoofing is used often by military or shipping companies to disguise the location of sensitive items.
Mr Usman said most of the problems people were experiencing in the Middle East were the result of spoofing. “You're driving your car and you're trying to get to your hotel, but the GPS keeps on thinking you're 400 miles away,” he said.
He has experienced the problem during his occasional trips to the Middle East. “Where it sometimes shows is the adversary country from where the missiles or drones are originating,” Mr Usman added.
Regardless of whether spoofing or jamming is to blame, the end result is millions of smartphone users suddenly noticing their apps and operating systems wrongly indicating where they are, or simply failing to work at all.
Elliott Sanders, RSA's national security co-ordinator, said that, in the months and years ahead, GPS woes will probably become more prevalent if the status quo of current geopolitical confrontations is maintained. “The first casualty of conflict is going to be GPS,” he warned, adding that civilians will continue to be affected given the prevalence of GPS.
In addition to the ample contracts and products RSA currently offers, the company also boasts of Sparrow, which it describes as “navigation independent from GPS and the Global Navigation Satellite System [GNSS] for vehicles in air, land and sea domains”. Sparrow is sold primarily to governments and defence entities.
RSA is not alone in offering GPS alternatives, but Mr Usman said the company's celestial navigation technology, unlike competitors, does not rely on “terrain navigation”.
“They [other products] use terrain to figure out where they're at, which works in Ukraine because there's no major bodies of water for the most part,” he said, explaining that areas such as the Strait of Hormuz do not necessarily allow for such offerings to be used effectively. “Once you go over the strait, you can't use the land to navigate."
For average consumers, even amid so many instances of jamming and spoofing, GPS will not be going away any time soon. Late last year, the GPS Innovation Alliance, an association of companies making and deploying GPS technology, called on US President Donald Trump to enact policies to protect GPS technology.
Making matters potentially more problematic is the proliferation of devices that make it relatively easy for anyone to stir up GPS trouble.
A basic internet search shows many available devices – ranging in price from $130 to $2,000 – that can jam GPS signals.
For Mr Usman, that means the work and research continue. “Someone could order a GPS jammer on Amazon right here and take out the whole block,” he said.
