Sat Nov 15 20:44:00 UTC 2025: News Article:

GNSS Spoofing Incident Investigation Ordered After Affecting Flights Over Delhi

New Delhi, November 16, 2025 – The Indian government has launched an investigation into a series of concerning incidents involving Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) spoofing affecting aircraft flying over Delhi during early November. The investigation, ordered by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) headed by Ajit Doval, comes after multiple reports from pilots experiencing manipulated GNSS signals, which resulted in false terrain warnings and incorrect navigation data in cockpit systems.

Pilots reported that the cockpit systems issued false terrain warnings, suggesting obstacles ahead where none existed. These events were being reported by aircraft within 60 nautical miles of Delhi, requiring manual intervention from air traffic controllers.

While GNSS spoofing, the act of transmitting misleading satellite signals, has been documented in conflict zones near India’s borders, its occurrence over inland metropolitan airspace is rare. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a stricter Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) requiring pilots and air traffic controllers to report such events within 10 minutes of occurrence.

According to the OPS Group, by August 2024, around 1,500 flights per day were being spoofed. An analysis by the OPS Group showed that for the one-month period from July 15-August 15, 2024, a total of 41,000 flights experienced spoofing. The report identified the Delhi region among the top 10 regions in the world that encountered large amount of spoofing after locations in Cyprus, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, Belarus, and Lebanon.

Modern aircraft rely heavily on GNSS for navigation, and spoofing can impact terrain warnings, automatic braking, and communication systems. While aircraft have backup systems, such interference can increase pilot workload and potentially threaten safety.

The International Air Transport Aviation (IATA) has called for enhanced international cooperation and development of more resilient GNSS systems and underscored that international law explicitly prohibits targeting civil aircraft or airports. The recurring incidents have raised safety concerns, prompting calls for greater transparency and improved communication to maintain confidence in the aviation system.

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