A map from the aircraft tracking website, Flightradar24, reveals a dense cluster of red hexagons blanketing Southern Myanmar. These hexagons represent areas experiencing significant interference with satellite-guided navigation systems, warning aircraft of potential risks in the region.
“GPS jamming involves saturating GPS receivers with unknown signals. . . essentially degrading everyone’s ability to effectively use GPS for navigational purposes,” explained a post on Flightradar24. The website, which began as a project by “two Swedish aviation geeks” in 2006, now boasts the largest aviation surveillance network using ADS-B receivers.
Flightradar24 further warned that scrambled signals could lead to “flight deviations, missed approaches, or potential collisions, especially in critical phases such as takeoff, landing, or during instrument approaches in low visibility conditions.”
While the reasons behind specific jamming incidents remain unclear, natural events like solar flares can degrade GPS signals. However, defense analysts attribute the recent surge in jamming to nation-states “driven by the desire to protect military targets” from satellite-guided missiles or drones.
This interference coincides with escalating drone warfare in Myanmar. On April 4, a swarm of drones attacked the capital, Naypyidaw, hitting military headquarters, an air base, and the residence of junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. According to state-run Myawaddy TV, the military downed the drones with no casualties reported. The People’s Defense Force (PDF), the armed wing of the opposition National Unity Government (NUG), claimed responsibility.
Shortly after, Vice-Senior Gen. Soe Win was targeted during a visit to the Southeastern Regional Command near Mawlamyine, Mon State’s capital. He was evacuated after attack drones struck the building, reportedly injuring him. The Alpha Bats Drone Force, affiliated with the NUG, took credit for the strike.
“The escalation in drone warfare over the past year has reshaped the country’s internal power dynamic,” said a Myanmar scholar formerly with the Centre for Policy Research. “They have not completely closed the tactical asymmetry between the military and resistance forces, but have diminished it significantly.”
Despite these developments, a Washington Post investigation found that the military has made significant upgrades to its drone units. Commercial UAVs have been retrofitted with combat munitions, and Russian surveillance drones have enhanced strike capabilities. In April, Chinese-made hexacopters helped the military recapture the rebel-held town of Kawkareik, near the Thai border.
The surge in GPS jamming and drone activity places Southern Myanmar among the top GPS-disrupted regions globally, alongside the Middle East and Ukraine-Russia war zones. Affected areas include the Irrawaddy Delta, the Bay of Bengal, and the Andaman Sea coast. So far, no navigation disruptions have been reported by civilian or military aircraft.
In contrast, European pilots have reported frequent satellite signal disruptions, particularly near the Black Sea. “When we come close to Ukraine. . . a lot of our systems will fall out,” said a Scandinavian Airlines pilot in a Flightradar24 video. “It’s really annoying,” added a crew member on the Airbus flight from Copenhagen to Bangkok, noting that they had to switch to an older but more reliable Inertial Reference System.
The Baltic Sea is another hotspot for GPS disruptions. In May, Finnair’s head of flight operations told the BBC that the airline receives “more than 100 reports per month,” but characterized the disruptions as “a nuisance with no imminent safety impact.”
Military aircraft are also affected. In March, a Royal Air Force plane carrying former British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps experienced signal interference near Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave. A government spokesperson described the incident as “not unusual” and said it “didn’t threaten the safety of the aircraft.”
Aviation regulators raised concerns at a high-level meeting in Cologne in January. “We immediately need to ensure that pilots and crews can identify the risks and know how to react and land safely,” said Luc Tytgat, acting executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Willie Walsh, Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), urged a focus on safety protocols for commercial airlines, which are on the “front line facing the risk.” He also called for increased sharing of Global Satellite Navigation System (GNSS) data, including from U.S., Russian, and Chinese satellite networks.
BOB POST
