India Battles Aviation GPS Spoofing: High-Level Measures Deployed

Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, reveals multiple flights at New Delhi's IGI Airport faced GPS spoofing. Instant actions include GNSS advisories, real-time spoofing event reporting, enhanced monitoring, and global coordination to counter evolving cybersecurity threats in India's aviation landscape.

In an alarming revelation, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, disclosed on Monday that several flights navigating towards New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport recently encountered GPS spoofing. The statement was a response to a query posed by Rajya Sabha member S Niranjan Reddy during the Winter Session of Parliament.

Minister Naidu explained that the spoofing incidents affected aircraft utilizing GPS-based landing procedures on Runway 10 at the airport. Pilots were compelled to switch to backup procedures upon detecting false navigation signals. Notably, operations on other runway ends were unaffected, thanks to conventional navigation aids.

To address these challenges, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) have initiated several strategies. These include the issuance of Advisory Circular ANSS AC 01 (2023) to combat GNSS interference, a new Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for real-time reporting of spoofing events, and collaboration with the Wireless Monitoring Organisation to pinpoint interference sources. Ongoing reports also show similar incidents at airports in Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

India is reinforcing navigational robustness by maintaining a Minimum Operating Network of ground-based infrastructure and engaging in global discussions on innovative practices. The aviation sector is also addressing escalating cyber threats through the deployment of sophisticated cybersecurity measures guided by national and international standards. Naidu emphasized that aviation cybersecurity necessitates perpetual system upgrades, given the rapid evolution of potential threats.

(With inputs from agencies.)