Mysterious 10-second GPS interference signals have been hitting Europe since 2019 — and researchers think Russia is to blame

A Galileo GPS satellite

(Image credit: ESA)

New research analyzes GPS jamming signals over the last 7 yearsA Russian satellite network seems to be the source of the interferenceThere are still questions over the purpose of the 10-second burstsLosing access to GPS navigation systems might not stop you finding your way to the office, but it would play havoc with military maneuvers — and that might explain why Russia has apparently been testing a way to jam GPS signals across the entire European continent.Russia's involvement and intentions haven't been confirmed, but a new study from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University (via Ars Technica) lays out a pretty strong case. It analyzes a series of powerful "interference events" across Europe, Greenland, and Canada, based on data collected between 2019 and 2026.These events affected the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) that GPS relies on, and they can be caused deliberately, or as the result of natural events (like atmospheric interference). This new study focuses on sharp, intense, regular bursts of interference that have been lasting less than 10 seconds, and hitting the same frequencies.The study, which hasn't yet been peer-reviewed, maps out when and where these jamming signals have appeared. They've mostly been showing up during business hours in Europe, and generally on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, making GPS signals harder to get a lock on and less reliable.A potential source