A Cost-Efficient RFI Localization Approach to Detect GNSS Jamming and Spoofing

Michael Felux, Valentin Fischer, Sophie Jochems, Okuary Osechas, Manuel Waltert, Luciano Sarperi, Martin Strohmeier

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	This paper introduces a novel method to identify the source of a Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) in an affordable and easily deployable way using UAVs. A payload consisting of two GNSS antennas and a directional antenna was attached to a UAV. A heading-capable GNSS receiver was fed with the signal of one GNSS antenna into the primary antenna port, and the combined signal of the directional antenna and the other GNSS antenna into the second antenna port as test statistic. In flight tests, the location of a jammer, i.e., the RFI source, was determined on the basis of the position and heading of the UAV using the difference of the average C/N0 values of the two antenna inputs. The heading of the UAV at which the proposed test statistic yields a maximum value, the direction towards the RFI source is established. The proposed method was tested in a field experiment consisting of two flights and involving a directional jammer, which was located approximately 1.5 km from the UAV. Results of the first test flight indicate that the heading corresponding to the spike in the test statistic correspond well to the true direction of the jammer. However, during the second test flight, when the directional antenna pointed at the source of RFI for short periods of time only, the test statistic showed more variation and a less distinct peak. Besides, the proposed setup was tested close to a 5G antenna to evaluate if the proximity of the frequency bands of 5G and GPS L1 signals affect the detection capability of the proposed measurement setup. The test statistic showed a discernible peak indicating significant interference with the test statistic. In this paper, the feasibility of the proposed method could be demonstrated.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2024 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 23 - 25, 2024 Hyatt Regency Long Beach Long Beach, California
Pages:	374 - 380
Cite this article:	Felux, Michael, Fischer, Valentin, Jochems, Sophie, Osechas, Okuary, Waltert, Manuel, Sarperi, Luciano, Strohmeier, Martin, "A Cost-Efficient RFI Localization Approach to Detect GNSS Jamming and Spoofing," Proceedings of the 2024 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Long Beach, California, January 2024, pp. 374-380. https://doi.org/10.33012/2024.19482
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