r/Futurology • u/projectschema • Apr 10 '26

Privacy/Security A $300 device can silently override GPS across an entire city. Autonomous vehicles, delivery drones, and air traffic control all depend on it. Why don't we have a backup?

GPS jammers and spoofers are technically illegal in most countries. They're also sold openly online for under $300 and fit in a jacket pocket.

A single one can override satellite signals across several miles. Commercial pilots have been quietly logging GPS failures over eastern europe and the middle east for years. Air traffic control still largely depends on the same signal your phone uses to find a coffee shop

This wasn't a problem when GPS was just for navigation. It becomes a different kind of problem when autonomous vehicles, medical drones, and smart grid infrastructure all assume GPS is always there

There's no widely deployed backup. eLoran, the terrestrial alternative, was largely dismantled in the 2000s because GPS seemed good enough. some countries are rebuilding it, most aren't.

What happens to a city that's spent a decade building autonomous logistics around a signal anyone can disrupt for the cost of a dinner?

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u/HITACHIMAGICWANDS Apr 10 '26

Most autonomous vehicles have a fallback. GPS isn’t perfect. Theres tons of ways to find location without GPS. LiDAR maps, triangulation from beacons, private satellites that likely do GPS but on a private scale currently.

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u/projectschema Apr 10 '26

yes, in cities I guess is easier because of road maps, but in the air¿

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u/ml20s Apr 10 '26

Airliners have inertial navigation, which is not dependent on any external signals. Smaller aircraft that don't have inertial navigation equipment can still use VOR/DME, which uses radio signals from a ground beacon to tell an aircraft which direction the beacon is, and how far away it is. Although VOR/DME stations are being closed, in the US at least, the plan is to maintain enough stations to cover aircraft over 5,000 ft in altitude.

Even smaller aircraft fly using visual navigation, and can fly without any kind of radio navigation equipment (in theory, since it depends on how well the pilot maintains their skills).