For decades, the aviation industry has been defined by innovation—jet propulsion, satellite-based navigation, fly-by-wire systems. But even as aircraft technology has advanced, one truth has remained largely unchanged: GPS was never designed to be secure.

In regions marked by instability or strategic tension, access to reliable satellite navigation is not a given—it’s a gamble. Aircraft flying over or near conflict zones face a silent but serious challenge: intentional disruption of GPS signals.

When most people hear “GPS spoofing,” they imagine nation-state cyber attacks or hostile signal jamming. But not all threats come with malicious intent. In fact, some of the most disruptive spoofing incidents in recent years have been entirely accidental.