Wed, Mar 20, 2024
GPS Signal Integrity No Longer a Given in Our Brave New World
Send Solutions brought out their Spoof Proof Airtext+ product line, capping off "extensive research and development efforts" with an independently created, secure GPS receiver.
![](/images/content/genav/2024/Airtext-Stock-Cockpit-Deck-0324.jpg)
The threat of GPS spoofing hasn't yet caught on too deeply in the industry, but it's one of the more troubling new-tech concerns for those aware of how fast state-of-the-art can move. A successful spoof returns inaccurate position information to an aircraft in flight, making the GPS installed aboard the aircraft hallucinate a totally incorrect position for itself. Needless to say, it represents an insane level of threat to complacent aircrews - particularly for those who have come up in an industry blessed with ironclad GPS signal integrity. Generally, only an aircraft with a very sharp paper-map pilot or an active inertial navigation unit could be fairly safe from being scrambled in the air, but Send Solutions says the newest version of Airtext+ offers a comprehensive solution.
When affected by suspected spoofing signals, the Airtext+ provides immediate crew notification, automatic ground reporting, and a flight deck map of non-spoofed location aids. A constant monitor of GPS position integrity uses a combination of GNSS hardware and algorithmic analysis, checking "3x the current GPS navigation satellites" to detect a spoofed signal before it is accepted into the datastream as fact. If such an event is encountered, the Airtext+ module notifies the crew to take immediate action to minimize corruption of the FMS, or hybrid aircraft position. It transmits a message to ground controllers and dispatchers via the Iridium satellite network, conveying the nature of the event and any other useful info it has available. From there, it offers a "high resolution dead reckoning position that can be input into the aircraft navigation system determined from the last known qualified position prior to the jamming event." Should Airtext+ find qualified, trustworthy GNSS signals again, it can
return to standard operation.
Send Solutions points out that the issue has already made its way home - GPS spoofing is no longer a rare problem encountered by unlucky crews flying near Iranian airspace. So far the FAA has recorded spoofing attempts in Texas, Colorado, and Idaho, a trend that won't let up with more internet attention to the widespread hassles it can cause. Airtext+ is being tested on a trio of Part 25 aircraft, including a Falcon 900, Citation X, and LearJet 60. The system can be ordered today, for shipment in April.
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