Invasion of Ukraine: “Russians are likely to destroy satellites” – GPS already blocked

Several satellites could be targets of the Russian army as well invades Ukrainesaid the head of the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which manages the spy fleet satellites of the country.

“I think we can clearly see that Russia is committed to doing what it wants in Ukraine. “And what it wants to do with its invasion is win,” NRO Director Christopher Scholes told the National Space Association’s Space Defense and Intelligence Conference on Wednesday (February 23rd), according to SpaceNews.

“So I think we can assume that, to the extent that they can, and to the extent that they feel that it will not lead the conflict out of their control, they will extend it into space“, Added Scholes. Russian military forces invaded Ukraine early Thursday local time, according to the New York Times.

Although he did not make specific predictions about the measures that Russia can take, Scholes noted that Russia is already intervening. GPS, according to SpaceNews. He urged commercial and government satellite operators to be careful.

“Secure your systems against hackers”

“I would say to everyone that the important thing is to make sure that your systems are secure and that you monitor them very closely, because we know that the Russians are effective in cyberspace. “Hackers are playing a key role for them now,” said Scholes. “Again, it is difficult to say how far their range will go to achieve their goals. “But it is better to be prepared than to be surprised.”

For years, the U.S. military has worried that Russia and China will try to block GPS communications and U.S. communications satellites during a conflict.

In addition to disabling GPS through electronic interference attacks, Russia could also target US military GPS users with falsified PNT data (tracking data, ship vessels, etc. through coordinates and other parameters), a technique known as forgery. A GPS interruption could wreak havoc on all military activities including aircraft, ships, ammunition, land vehicles and ground troops. “In an active military conflict, even brief engagements and counterfeiting of the PNT can make a difference if they coexist properly with other companies,” a RAND Corp. report said.