Satellites are jammed – Ukraine revives an old solution in a new form
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When GPS drops out, the sky suddenly gets bigger. And the winner is the one who still knows where they are.
Russia is jamming and spoofing satellite signals across vast regions. A single GPS receiver is no longer enough for long‑range drones.
Ukraine’s answer: a network of radio beacons placed at known locations to give drones an extra reference point. The drone recognizes the signals, compares them with stored data, and stays on course even when satellites lie. Some beacons can even be air‑dropped where ground access is too dangerous.
But one beacon isn’t enough. The system is paired with inertial measurement, terrain recognition, and multiple overlapping methods. A radio transmitter can be detected and jammed — the value lies in coverage, not in any single node.
Pilot networks have reportedly worked in Sumy and Kharkiv, and the signals can support flights near the Russian border. How systematically beacons are dropped deeper into Russia is unknown.
Russia is developing its own system, Ariadna, claimed to be “eight times more accurate than GPS.” That’s their number — not an independent wartime test.
The war for the airspace is also a war for position. When GPS can’t be trusted, the winner is the one with the most ways to know where they are.
What do you think happens when the GPS war becomes the new normal?
militarnyi.com/en/news/maiac…
