Iridium Communications Inc., a leading provider of global voice, data, and PNT satellite communications, has announced a leap forward in the security of GPS and other GNSS-reliant devices against jamming, spoofing and timing interruptions with the unveiling of a dedicated, miniature application-specific integrated circuit, the Iridium® PNT ASIC.
Engineered for seamless integration into a wide range of electronic devices, the Iridium PNT ASIC will deliver authenticated, pole-to-pole positioning, navigation, and timing data.
It will provide a resilient alternative to traditional GNSS, offering protection against spoofing and jamming for consumer, industrial, and government applications.
“This is a first. To provide this type of capability on a global basis has never been done before,” said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. “The size, low cost, and scalability of this solution to protect GPS is a major breakthrough.”
The jamming and spoofing of GNSS systems have gone from being an occasional threat to a near-constant occurrence over the past few years. Several high-profile events, like the September 2025 jamming of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s aircraft navigation system and a malfunction of GNSS systems in the waters outside of Qatar, causing a pause in maritime operations in October 2025, are two recent examples.
A September 2024 report from OPSGROUP cited a 500% increase in the spoofing of commercial airliners, specifically stating that on average, 1,500 flights a day are encountering GPS spoofing.
Couple this dramatic rise in threats with the economic risks, estimated at billions of dollars per day globally, and the need for a simple, easily integrated solution is undeniable.
For example, in 2019, a single-day GPS outage in the United States was estimated by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to cost the economy approximately $1 billion. When adjusted for inflation in 2025, this could be well over $1.3 billion per day.
