When GPS Can't Be Trusted: How Surveying Technology Is Fighting Jamming and Spoofing

Most of us use GPS without thinking twice about it.

We use it for driving directions, smartphones, deliveries, aviation, agriculture, construction—and, of course, surveying.

Professional surveying, however, depends on something far more demanding than simply knowing approximately where something is located. Surveyors may rely on satellite positioning to determine locations to the centimeter level.

That makes the integrity of the signal extremely important.

Earlier this month, Trimble introduced a new generation of GNSS receiver technology incorporating expanded anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities. The company's Maxwell 8 platform includes a technology called JammerGuard, designed to identify and mitigate interference that could otherwise affect positioning reliability.

The announcement reflects a growing concern across industries that depend on satellite positioning:

What happens when the GPS signal itself cannot be trusted?

Jamming and Spoofing Are Different Problems

GNSS—or Global Navigation Satellite System—is the broader term for satellite positioning systems that include GPS and other satellite constellations.

Two major threats to those signals are jamming and spoofing.

Jamming occurs when interference overwhelms or disrupts the satellite signal, making it difficult or impossible for a receiver to obtain a reliable position.

Spoofing can be even more complicated. Instead of simply blocking the signal, spoofing involves transmitting false positioning information that can cause a receiver to calculate an incorrect location.

For an everyday navigation app, that could mean showing the wrong location.

For industries depending on precision positioning, the stakes can be considerably higher.

Surveying, construction, machine control, aviation, maritime navigation, mining, and autonomous technologies all depend on trustworthy location information.

The Technology Is Getting Smarter

Trimble's newly announced receivers include technology designed to automatically respond to interference while also verifying the integrity of positioning information.

The Maxwell 8 platform also expands multi-constellation and multi-frequency tracking, allowing receivers to use more satellite signals simultaneously. Trimble says the new architecture provides increased processing capability and is being designed with future positioning technologies, including emerging low-Earth-orbit satellite systems, in mind.

That is important because modern survey GNSS receivers do not simply rely on one satellite or one signal.

They process information from multiple constellations, correction sources, sensors, and algorithms to calculate precise positions.

But even better equipment does not eliminate the need for professional judgment.

Surveying Has Always Been About Verification

One of the most important parts of professional surveying is knowing when information needs to be checked.

Surveyors routinely use redundancy, control points, repeat observations, independent measurements, existing monumentation, records, total stations, levels, GNSS equipment, and other methods to confirm that results make sense.

That principle becomes even more important as positioning systems become increasingly complex.

A receiver may provide an extremely precise number—but precision and accuracy are not necessarily the same thing.

The surveyor still has to determine whether that number is reliable.

Why This Matters Beyond Surveying

Satellite positioning has quietly become part of much of the infrastructure behind modern life.

Telecommunications systems use precise timing information. Construction equipment can rely on GNSS machine control. Farmers use precision positioning. Aircraft and ships use satellite navigation. Emergency services, mapping platforms, and transportation systems all depend on location data.

As dependence on GNSS increases, resilience becomes increasingly important.

That is why developments in anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology are worth watching.

At Abbie Jones Consulting, PSC, we embrace technology that improves efficiency and precision—but technology remains one part of the surveying process.

Reliable surveying still requires good control, appropriate procedures, verification, experience, and professional judgment.

Because sometimes the most important question is not, “What coordinates did the equipment give us?”

It is: “Do we know those coordinates are right?”

Abbie Jones Consulting, PSC

Surveying • Engineering • Solutions

Source

Trimble. “Trimble Introduces Next-Generation GNSS Performance with New Receivers and Enhanced Technology.” September 10, 2026.