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Session F4: Application/Impact of PNT Technologies in the Homeland Critical Infrastructure

Civil Receiver Performance in DHS 2025 GPS Equipment Testing for Critical Infrastructure (GET-CI)
Dean C. Bruckner, Hexagon US Federal
Location: Ballroom C
Date/Time: Monday, Jun. 1, 4:05 p.m.

Two NovAtel PwrPak7 GNSS receivers are subjected to various spoofing attacks formulated by the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and provided to vendors with equipment used in the US civil critical infrastructure. In this event known as "Plug Fest," two firmware versions of the PwrPak7 are exposed simultaneously to the same sequence of simulated threats through a single RF coaxial cable each, and their performance is compared and contrasted. Some threats have no visible effect on the receivers, some have varying effects, and a few threats completely disable receiver functions. Effects on tracking performance, ranges, C/N0 and PVT solution are presented for the various threats. The receivers' abilities to recognize and reduce the effects of jamming and spoofing for a single antenna feed are evaluated. Recovery period, where applicable, is examined. Advantages and disadvantages of using multiple GNSS constellations are described. Results are extrapolated to risks for a handful of civil critical infrastructure applications, and recommendations for possible mitigations are presented.

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