In a true sign of the times, gamers using the most recent version of Microsoft Flight Simulator for the long-range Airbus A350 will now encounter much more realistic GPS jamming and spoofing.
A post on the forum iniBuilds earlier this year outlined a number of changes and upgrades to its game for the Airbus A350. The A350 is a long-range aircraft used around the world. As such, these aircraft are more likely than many others to transit regions where interference with GPS and other GNSS signals is common.
The post describes all GPS interference as “jamming,” which, according to the company, is intended to include spoofing as well.
iniBuilds is a British company headquartered in London. It describes itself as a “cutting edge game studio” specializing in development of simulation for both video games and commercial applications. Among its dozens of products is the “A350 Airliner” flight simulator that it offers for £44.99.
A previous version of the game included some rudimentary instances of GPS jamming. The most recent update, though, in the words of the company, “…marks a significant step forward in realism, functionality, and overall immersion.”
The iniBuilds post describes a number of changes and upgrades to the game. When discussing GPS interference it sets the stage by informing users:
“Modern aircraft like the 350 depend heavily on GPS for efficient and precise routing. While they have inertial reference systems (IRS) and backup navigation sources (like DME/DME or VOR), the loss of GPS can still limit functionality, trigger alerts, or force a switch to alternate navigation modes.”
The game is also geo-referenced and linked to real-time interference data. When the simulation has the aircraft flying through a region where interference is taking place, the game will assess the level of jamming. The simulation will then incorporate the interference at various levels depending on whether signals are “…degraded, blocked, or completely unavailable.”
As in the real world, the simulation may then show impacts such as:
- Navigation accuracy degradation
- Incorrect ADS-B reporting, including TCAS anomalies
- Flight management system malfunctions
Explaining the details of their methodology the post says:
“The [interference] regions are calculated using a system called H3 geo to convert latitude and longitude into hex cells on a map that correlate to aircraft reporting of GPS data in those areas over a 24hr period and dynamically updated so the jammed areas are always changing based on real world data.
The system looks up data based on aircraft latitude and longitude every 5 minutes.
The API responds with good, partial and bad aircraft reports.
If all good, no jamming is active.
If partial, a percentage of bad and good reports is used as a “chance” to be jammed for the checked period. In this instance, you may experience jamming coming and going through areas where it’s reported.
If all bad, the area is being fully jammed, and you will encounter GPS interference and related system failures.”
