RESILIENT PNT / TSPI ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR TELEMETRY DURING GNSS OUTAGE TEST SCENARIOS

Abstract

GNSS is key to effective situational awareness, providing critical Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) telemetry data for mobile military operations. Yet GPS/GNSS jamming and spoofing attacks are on the rise. The combination of low-cost hardware, open source software, and tutorials on YouTube have fostered the proliferation of these malicious acts. Beyond intentional disruption, other factors such as environmental conditions and conflicts with other electronic systems can result in unreliable or even unavailable GNSS data. The disruption of GNSS for increasing periods of time through jamming/spoofing must now be an essential test component in most test scenarios today. How can one still provide reliable Time-Space Position Information (TSPI) during periods of GNSS denial? Key mobile military operations that rely on continuous and trusted PNT telemetry data from GNSS include: SatCom on the Move (SOTM), Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), Airborne Communications Relay, Synthetic Aperture Radar, and Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). Techniques and technologies used in battlefield systems to provide alternative sources of PNT data during a GNSS outage, can also be used on the test range. This paper will identify technologies, best practices and strategies for GNSS jamming/spoofing detection and protection systems and testing protocols to maintain a state of PNT readiness.