Attacks on GPS Spike Amid US and Israeli War on Iran

Title: GPS Chaos in the Strait of Hormuz: How Electronic Warfare Is Paralyzing Global Oil Trade

In a stunning escalation of the US-Israel-Iran conflict, the world’s most critical oil chokepoint—the Strait of Hormuz—has been plunged into electronic warfare chaos. Since February 28, 2025, when American and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran, more than 1,100 ships navigating the Gulf region have experienced severe GPS and AIS (Automatic Identification System) disruptions, creating what maritime intelligence experts are calling a “dangerous new normal” for global shipping.

According to Ami Daniel, CEO of maritime intelligence firm Windward, the levels of electronic interference are “way above the baseline” of usual activity. Ships are being electronically “teleported” to impossible locations—appearing inland at airports, circling endlessly off the coasts of UAE and Qatar, and even showing up at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE. This isn’t just a navigation inconvenience; it’s a full-blown maritime crisis that threatens to paralyze the $1.5 trillion global oil trade that flows through these waters daily.

The electronic warfare tactics being deployed include both jamming—where satellite signals are overwhelmed and rendered useless—and spoofing, where false signals make ships appear in completely wrong locations. While most of the activity detected so far has been jamming rather than spoofing, the sheer volume is unprecedented. Windward’s analysis identified 21 “new clusters” of AIS data disruption in just recent days, with ships creating bizarre circular patterns that would make no navigational sense under normal circumstances.

Maritime officials have issued “critical” risk warnings to vessels operating in the region, and for good reason. At least three tankers have already been damaged in the conflict, and the electronic interference creates perfect conditions for catastrophic accidents. Ships running off course could collide with other vessels, run aground on shallow reefs, or worse—cause devastating oil spills in these environmentally sensitive waters. In wartime, such electronic warfare is often used to disrupt the navigation systems of drones and missiles, but the collateral damage to civilian shipping is becoming impossible to ignore.

This isn’t the first time the Strait has experienced such interference. During June 2025 exchanges of missile fire between Israel and Iran, significant GPS jamming was already reported. But what’s happening now represents a qualitative and quantitative leap in electronic warfare capabilities. While commercial air travel has been largely grounded across the Middle East, aviation hasn’t escaped unscathed. Jeremy Bennington, vice president at Spirent Communications, reports at least six new spoofing signatures affecting hundreds of flights, though cancellations over the weekend have reduced the immediate risk.

The implications stretch far beyond the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz handles approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply—about 21 million barrels per day. Any prolonged disruption to shipping through this narrow passage (only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point) could send global oil prices skyrocketing, trigger economic chaos, and potentially draw in more countries to an already expanding regional conflict.

As tensions continue to escalate, one thing is clear: the electronic battlefield has expanded from land, air, and sea to the invisible domain of satellite signals and navigation systems. In this new era of warfare, even the most advanced commercial vessels are vulnerable to being electronically “hijacked,” their crews left blind and disoriented in some of the world’s most dangerous waters. The question isn’t whether this conflict will spread further—it’s how much longer the global economy can withstand the strain of a Strait of Hormuz held hostage by electronic warfare.

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