GPS jamming is the deliberate broadcast of radio noise on the frequencies that satellite-navigation systems use. The satellite signal reaching the ground is extremely weak, so a relatively small transmitter can drown it out across a wide area. Receivers inside that area — in phones, cars, ships, aircraft and drones — lose their position fix or start reporting a degraded, unreliable one.
Because it attacks the signal itself rather than any single device, jamming affects everyone nearby at once. It is rarely aimed at drones specifically, but a drone flying through a jammed area feels it immediately: refused take-offs, drift, and an unreliable return-to-home.
Most of the interference over Europe comes from military electronic warfare (in Russian, РЭБ). It has intensified since 2022, radiating from around Kaliningrad and the war in Ukraine across the Baltic Sea, the Baltic states, Poland, Finland and Sweden, with a second belt over the Black Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and the Caspian. Thousands of civilian flights now report degraded GPS every day.
See where it is happening right now on the live map, or check a specific area such as the Baltic Sea, Poland or Kaliningrad.
Every airliner broadcasts how accurate its own navigation is over the open ADS-B network. FLYAWAY reads that accuracy from the aircraft overhead and turns it into a colour-coded jamming and spoofing risk map, updated every few minutes. It is advisory only — not a navigation instrument — but it lets you check a location before you launch.
In almost every country, operating a GPS jammer is illegal. The large-scale interference over Europe comes from state military activity, which sits outside civilian law.
Yes. GPS can be jammed by broadcasting radio noise on the satellite frequencies, which drowns out the weak signal so nearby receivers lose their fix. It is illegal for individuals, but large-scale military jamming is now routine over parts of Europe. Open the live map to see where GPS is being jammed right now.
GPS interference is the broader term: it covers both jamming, which drowns the signal in noise, and spoofing, which broadcasts a fake signal. FLYAWAY reads both from the aircraft overhead and shows them as a live GPS interference map.
Open the live map and check your spot. If aircraft overhead are reporting degraded accuracy, the area shows elevated jamming risk.