US spy drone tricked into Iran landing

[Troll]

An unconfirmed report yesterday quoted an unnamed Iranian engineer as saying that experts in the country were able to electronically ambush the drone, cuting off its communications links and reconfigure its GPS coordinates to trick it into landing in Iran.

gps spoofing

If you know where a drone is, and you can beam a stronger GPS signal at the drone than it would get from a satellite, it would pick up the fake signal and think it is somewhere else. If signals aren't encrypted, the people with the strongest transmitter win," he said.

[AtW]

And meanwhile remote air controllers were playing cards and totally disregarding that their top secret airplane is landing?

[RSoles]

This has sooo many applications....

Imagine driving down a road and there's a traffic jam up ahead. Switch on your bad boy transmitter and everyone turns off at the next available exit.

Quiet day at the drive-through?
Redirect all that traffic in.

Toll-roads. A fortune to be made.

[AtW]

GPS jammer is fairly easy technology, however changing it completely to fool complex aircraft to land nicely is hard - getting it crash into something might be far more likely.

If they achieved this non-trivial feat they'd certainly film the landing and show in on youtube.

I think it's far more likely that the thing crashed on it's own, Iranians found the pieces and created mock up thing using Wikipedia images.

[Paddy]

And meanwhile remote air controllers were playing cards and totally disregarding that their top secret airplane is landing?

No, the control signal was also jammed.

GPS jammer is fairly easy technology, however changing it completely to fool complex aircraft to land nicely is hard - getting it crash into something might be far more likely.

If they achieved this non-trivial feat they'd certainly film the landing and show in on youtube.

I think it's far more likely that the thing crashed on it's own, Iranians found the pieces and created mock up thing using Wikipedia images.

The GPS signal was overridden not just blocked. The signal spoofed the timing (rather complicated), and the drone believed the co-ordinates for its base was in Iraq although the spoofed coordinates (calculated by the timing) were in Iran. Because the control signal was lost, the drone went into “go home mode” and landed itself in Iran thinking it was Afghanistan. The drone crashed because it was expecting to land at a greater height than what was prepared in Iran as to the height in Iraq. The minor damage to the drone was covered up for the worlds press.

[AtW]

No, the control signal was also jammed.

Who says?

The GPS signal was overridden not just blocked.

You have evidence of that?

If Iranians could actually do it with such ease they'd never show they have such a weapon because it would be most useful in the event of attack - fooling cruise missiles and precision bombs would be far more valueable than showing off taken drone.

[OwlHoot]

GPS jammer is fairly easy technology, however changing it completely to fool complex aircraft to land nicely is hard - getting it crash into something might be far more likely.

If they achieved this non-trivial feat they'd certainly film the landing and show in on youtube.

I think it's far more likely that the thing crashed on it's own, Iranians found the pieces and created mock up thing using Wikipedia images.

WHS - It seems highly unlikely the navigation doesn't include a sort of continuity analysis of its GPS coordinates, given its flight speed and heading etc, and if these stray outside stringent bounds then switch to inertial guidance and proceed to the nearest safe landing site, or just carry on as normal without GPS. Ring laser gyroscopes are extremely accurate and reliable now, and must be more than adequate for this.

Also, surely the GPS antennae must be directional, and would ignore signals from a bunch of Iranian goons on the ground, especially as said goons probably weren't even using P(Y) code signals

edit: If you have a handy atomic clock associated with the GPS unit, you needn't use the C/A code (which a jammer would typically block) to get a bunk up onto the P(Y) code.

[NickFitz]

Iran spy drone GPS hijack boasts: Rubbish, say experts • The Register FWIW

[AtW]

Paddy should read less of Iranian and Hezbollah press and watch a few more western movies, like say - 300.

[Paddy]

GPS antenna are not directional for obvious reasons. There is a component in the GPS to tell the unit which way is up. Every so often an almanac is downloaded telling the unit the positions of the satellites. Many satellites are on the horizon. Spoofed signals can easily be broadcast from TV transmitters high up in mountains

The system was developed by Dariush Rezaei (Phd) who was assonated last year. It was first used in 2007 on a British Navel boat tricking it into Iranian waters.