UK to build military test site to combat GPS jamming
by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) Aug 20, 2024

The UK is to build a new facility to help protect military equipment against foreign GPS jamming, the defence ministry announced on Wednesday amid a rise in hostile threats.

The so-called silent hangar site will aim to protect equipment from "attempts to jam GPS devices" and develop kit that can "perform in the harshest electromagnetic environment on operations", the MoD said.

The facility, which is due to open in 2026 and will be one of the largest in Europe, will be used to test military equipment including Protector drones, Chinook helicopters, armoured vehicles and fast jets.

The tests will be conducted in a specialist hangar, which will "reduce reflections, echoes or the escape of radio-frequency waves".

It will be located at MoD Boscombe Down, a military aircraft testing site in Wiltshire, southwest England, with a GBP 20 million ($26 mn) contract awarded to defence tech firm QinetiQ to build the facility.

"Hostile threats jamming GPS to disorientate military equipment has become increasingly common," said Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle.

"This cutting-edge test facility will help us eliminate vulnerabilities from our platforms, protect our national security and keep our Armed Forces better protected on global deployments," Eagle added.

In April, Estonia and other Baltic states warned that widespread GPS jamming increased the threat of an aviation accident, with the NATO-member state blaming the interference on Russian "hybrid activity".

A month earlier, a British Royal Air Force plane carrying the then-UK defence minister had its GPS signal jammed as it flew near Russian territory.

"The testing we will conduct using this new facility will be integral to strengthening the resilience of military equipment", said Will Blamey, chief executive of UK Defence at QinetiQ.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ordered a review of the country's armed forces in his first month in office in July, which would set out the path for the UK to increase defence spending to 2.5 percent of its GDP.

UK spending on defence in 2023 stood at 2.26 percent, according to latest official figures.

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