raykeller
2018-01-27 21:22:38 UTC
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/17987/usaf-is-jamming-gps-in-the-western-u-s-for-largest-ever-red-flag-air-war-exercise
USAF Is Jamming GPS In The Western U.S. For Largest Ever Red Flag Air War
Exercise
The use of the mysterious jamming technology will impact the navigation of
aircraft operating as far away from Nevada as Colorado.
BY TYLER ROGOWAY
JANUARY 25, 2018
THE WAR ZONEELECTRONIC WARFARE EXERCISE GPS DENIAL JAMMING
USAF
TYLER ROGOWAY
twitter.com/Aviation_Intel
The year's first iteration of the USAF's premier set of aerial war games,
known commonly as Red Flag, is kicking off today at Nellis Air Force Base
just outside of Las Vegas, but this exercise will be different than any in
the past. Not only is it the largest of its kind in the exercise's 42 year
history, but the USAF is going to blackout GPS over the sprawling Nevada
Test and Training Range to challenge aircrews and their weaponry under
realistic fighting conditions. The tactic will spill over throughout the
region, with warnings being posted stating inconsistent GPS service could be
experienced by aircrews flying throughout the western United States.
SR-71'S "R2-D2" COULD BE THE KEY TO WINNING FUTURE FIGHTS IN GPS DENIED
ENVIRONMENTS
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
RUSSIA JAMMED PHONES AND GPS IN NORTHERN EUROPE DURING MASSIVE MILITARY
DRILLS
By Joseph Trevithick
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
THIS IS LIKELY WHY THE NAVY IS CAUSING A MASSIVE AND MYSTERIOUS GPS OUTAGE
IN THE WESTERN US
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
RUSSIA MAY BE TESTING ITS GPS SPOOFING CAPABILITIES AROUND THE BLACK SEA
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
The disruptions will begin on January 26th and will run through February
16th. Flying.com reports:
"The NBAA Command Center reports the U.S. military will begin training
exercises on the Nevada Test and Training Range between 0400Z until 0700Z
daily. Training maneuvers will impact vast portions of the Western U.S.
including California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Colorado,
Montana and New Mexico. FAA enroute ATC centers affected include Albuquerque
(ZAB), Denver (ZDV), Los Angeles (ZLA), Salt Lake (ZLC), Oakland (ZOA) and
Seattle (ZSE). Operations in R-2508 and R-2501 may also be impacted.
Arrivals and departures from airports within the Las Vegas area may be
issued non-Rnav re-routes with the possibility of increased traffic
disruption near LAS requiring airborne re-routes to the south and east of
the affected area. Aircraft operating in Los Angeles (ZLA) center airspace
may experience navigational disruption, including suspension of Descend-via
and Climb-via procedures. Non-Rnav SIDs and STARs may be issued within ZLA
airspace in the event of increased navigational disruption. Crews should
expect the possibility of airborne mile-in-trail and departure mile-in-trail
traffic management initiatives."
Those dates and the location perfectly correspond with Red Flag 18-1. The
timeframe for the daily disruptions is also the same as the night launch and
recovery period for Red Flag this time of year. Two major large force
employment missions take place every day during the exercise, one during the
light and one during the night, with each last roughly two to three hours.
This particular Red Flag includes players from the USAF, USMC, Australia and
UK. The very limited guest list of only America's most trusted allies is
indicative of a Red Flag exercise where high-end and sensitive capabilities
will be put to the test. According to a press release from the USAF that was
posted just hours ago, this seems to be an accurate assumption, with Colonel
Michael Mathes, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander, stating:
"We're trying a few new and different things with Red Flag 18-1... It's the
largest Red Flag ever with the largest number of participants, highlighting
the balance of training efficiency with mission effectiveness... Red Flag
18-1 primarily is a strike package focused training venue that we integrate
at a command and control level in support of joint task force operations...
It's a lot of words to say that we integrate every capability we can into
strike operations that are flown out of Nellis Air Force Base."
GPS denial is a becoming a huge issue for American military planners. Peer
states, especially Russia, are already putting GPS spoofing and jamming
tactics to work during various training events near their own borders. We
have discussed this situation in great depth before, and I would suggest you
read this article to understand just how deeply the loss of reliable global
positioning system data can mean for the U.S. and its allies during a time
of war, as well as what is being done to overcome such a monumental hurdle.
The Pentagon has mysteriously tested technology that can jam GPS over a wide
area before, and it is likely that this same capability will be put to use
in the Nellis Test and Training Range for this Red Flag 18-1. Line-of-sight
and distance impact the way in which GPS users, especially other airplanes,
operating far outside the training area will be affected. Here is an article
on those tests, which emanated from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake,
which is located on the western edge of the Mojave Desert in California, in
June of 2016. Below is a released image showing how line-of-sight impacts
the jammer's abilities:
FAA
Map showing how the DoD's GPS jamming would impact airspace over America's
southwest during a test in June, 2016.
The fact that the Department of Defense is going to execute wide-spread GPS
jamming operations during such a high-end exercise is more proof of just how
big of a threat these emerging electronic warfare tactics pose. It will be
interesting to see if the USAF admits that the technology was indeed used
for Red Flag after the exercise concludes, but considering that there are a
whole number of position, navigation, and timing (PNT) technologies being
developed in hopes to help overcome the loss of GPS during combat,
advisories like this one that occur during major military exercises will
likely become increasingly normal in the years to come.
USAF Is Jamming GPS In The Western U.S. For Largest Ever Red Flag Air War
Exercise
The use of the mysterious jamming technology will impact the navigation of
aircraft operating as far away from Nevada as Colorado.
BY TYLER ROGOWAY
JANUARY 25, 2018
THE WAR ZONEELECTRONIC WARFARE EXERCISE GPS DENIAL JAMMING
USAF
TYLER ROGOWAY
twitter.com/Aviation_Intel
The year's first iteration of the USAF's premier set of aerial war games,
known commonly as Red Flag, is kicking off today at Nellis Air Force Base
just outside of Las Vegas, but this exercise will be different than any in
the past. Not only is it the largest of its kind in the exercise's 42 year
history, but the USAF is going to blackout GPS over the sprawling Nevada
Test and Training Range to challenge aircrews and their weaponry under
realistic fighting conditions. The tactic will spill over throughout the
region, with warnings being posted stating inconsistent GPS service could be
experienced by aircrews flying throughout the western United States.
SR-71'S "R2-D2" COULD BE THE KEY TO WINNING FUTURE FIGHTS IN GPS DENIED
ENVIRONMENTS
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
RUSSIA JAMMED PHONES AND GPS IN NORTHERN EUROPE DURING MASSIVE MILITARY
DRILLS
By Joseph Trevithick
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
THIS IS LIKELY WHY THE NAVY IS CAUSING A MASSIVE AND MYSTERIOUS GPS OUTAGE
IN THE WESTERN US
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
RUSSIA MAY BE TESTING ITS GPS SPOOFING CAPABILITIES AROUND THE BLACK SEA
By Tyler Rogoway
Posted in THE WAR ZONE
The disruptions will begin on January 26th and will run through February
16th. Flying.com reports:
"The NBAA Command Center reports the U.S. military will begin training
exercises on the Nevada Test and Training Range between 0400Z until 0700Z
daily. Training maneuvers will impact vast portions of the Western U.S.
including California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Colorado,
Montana and New Mexico. FAA enroute ATC centers affected include Albuquerque
(ZAB), Denver (ZDV), Los Angeles (ZLA), Salt Lake (ZLC), Oakland (ZOA) and
Seattle (ZSE). Operations in R-2508 and R-2501 may also be impacted.
Arrivals and departures from airports within the Las Vegas area may be
issued non-Rnav re-routes with the possibility of increased traffic
disruption near LAS requiring airborne re-routes to the south and east of
the affected area. Aircraft operating in Los Angeles (ZLA) center airspace
may experience navigational disruption, including suspension of Descend-via
and Climb-via procedures. Non-Rnav SIDs and STARs may be issued within ZLA
airspace in the event of increased navigational disruption. Crews should
expect the possibility of airborne mile-in-trail and departure mile-in-trail
traffic management initiatives."
Those dates and the location perfectly correspond with Red Flag 18-1. The
timeframe for the daily disruptions is also the same as the night launch and
recovery period for Red Flag this time of year. Two major large force
employment missions take place every day during the exercise, one during the
light and one during the night, with each last roughly two to three hours.
This particular Red Flag includes players from the USAF, USMC, Australia and
UK. The very limited guest list of only America's most trusted allies is
indicative of a Red Flag exercise where high-end and sensitive capabilities
will be put to the test. According to a press release from the USAF that was
posted just hours ago, this seems to be an accurate assumption, with Colonel
Michael Mathes, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander, stating:
"We're trying a few new and different things with Red Flag 18-1... It's the
largest Red Flag ever with the largest number of participants, highlighting
the balance of training efficiency with mission effectiveness... Red Flag
18-1 primarily is a strike package focused training venue that we integrate
at a command and control level in support of joint task force operations...
It's a lot of words to say that we integrate every capability we can into
strike operations that are flown out of Nellis Air Force Base."
GPS denial is a becoming a huge issue for American military planners. Peer
states, especially Russia, are already putting GPS spoofing and jamming
tactics to work during various training events near their own borders. We
have discussed this situation in great depth before, and I would suggest you
read this article to understand just how deeply the loss of reliable global
positioning system data can mean for the U.S. and its allies during a time
of war, as well as what is being done to overcome such a monumental hurdle.
The Pentagon has mysteriously tested technology that can jam GPS over a wide
area before, and it is likely that this same capability will be put to use
in the Nellis Test and Training Range for this Red Flag 18-1. Line-of-sight
and distance impact the way in which GPS users, especially other airplanes,
operating far outside the training area will be affected. Here is an article
on those tests, which emanated from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake,
which is located on the western edge of the Mojave Desert in California, in
June of 2016. Below is a released image showing how line-of-sight impacts
the jammer's abilities:
FAA
Map showing how the DoD's GPS jamming would impact airspace over America's
southwest during a test in June, 2016.
The fact that the Department of Defense is going to execute wide-spread GPS
jamming operations during such a high-end exercise is more proof of just how
big of a threat these emerging electronic warfare tactics pose. It will be
interesting to see if the USAF admits that the technology was indeed used
for Red Flag after the exercise concludes, but considering that there are a
whole number of position, navigation, and timing (PNT) technologies being
developed in hopes to help overcome the loss of GPS during combat,
advisories like this one that occur during major military exercises will
likely become increasingly normal in the years to come.