UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE (UAV) GPS

JAMMING BY USING SOFTWARE DEFINED

RADIO (SDR) PLATFORM

AHMAD DANIAL BIN ABDUL RAHMAN

MASTER OF SCIENCE (ELECTRICAL AND

ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING)

UNIVERSITI PERTAHANAN NASIONAL

MALAYSIA

2022
ii
 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE (UAV) GPS JAMMING BY USING

SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO (SDR) PLATFORM

AHMAD DANIAL BIN ABDUL RAHMAN

Thesis submitted to the Centre for Graduate Studies, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional

Malaysia, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Science (Electrical and

Electronics Engineering).

May 2022

iii
 ABSTRACT

Drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is now becoming one of the common
technology that are currently getting high demand especially among hobbyist and
professional photographer. Some of the user in industrial and commercial industries
operate the UAV for inspection and mapping purpose. UAV is a cost-effective
solution comparable to a helicopter. UAV navigation system rely on Global
Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or known as Global Positioning System (GPS)
to run the program that already set by the user. With user having limited control on
the UAV, this shows how crucial GPS to UAV’s navigation system.

In general, jamming is a process of blocking or interfering the communication signal

between the receiver and the transmitter. In this case, GPS signal of the UAV. The
most important aspect that should be considered when choosing a jamming technique
is the ability to operate efficiently with low power consumption. This thesis will
discuss about jamming the GPS signal of a UAV by using Software-Defined Radio
(SDR).

The thing that will be covered in this thesis is:

1. Suitable waveform modulation for GPS signal jamming.
2. Factors that can influence the effectiveness of the jamming signal.

The main software that will be used in this project is the GNU Radio Companion,
which is an open source software. GNU Radio Companion allow user to design noise
block program and conduct simulation test run before the noise block is test with the
hardware (SDR). This study will consist of initial simulation in software, and hands-
on lab test and field test.

During the lab test, SDR will be connected to the Spectrum Analyzer to compare the
result with the simulation. For the field test, an amplifiers and antenna will be
connected to the SDR and a fixed-wing UAV will be used as a target to jam. The
result of this study could be used as an effort to counter miscellaneous uses of UAV
technology.

i
 ABSTRAK

Dron atau Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) kini telah menjadi salah satu teknologi

yang tidak asing kepada masyarakat dan kini mendapat permintaan tinggi

terutamanya dalam kalangan penggemar dan jurugambar profesional. Beberapa

pengguna dalam industri perindustrian dan komersial menggunakan UAV untuk

tujuan pemeriksaan dan pemetaan. UAV ialah salah satu penyelesaian kos efektif

yang setanding dengan helikopter. Sistem navigasi UAV bergantung kepada Global

Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) atau lebih dikenali sebagai Global Positioning

System (GPS) untuk menjalankan program yang telah ditetapkan oleh pengguna.

Disebabkan pengguna mempunyai kawalan terhad pada UAV, hal ini menunjukkan

betapa pentingnya GPS kepada sistem navigasi UAV.

Secara umumnya, signal jamming adalah satu proses menyekat atau mengganggu

isyarat komunikasi antara penerima dan pemancar. Dalam kes ini, isyarat GPS UAV.

Aspek paling penting yang harus dipertimbangkan semasa memilih jamming

technique adalah keupayaan untuk beroperasi tanpa memerlukan sumber kuasa yang

tinggi. Tesis ini akan membincangkan tentang jamming isyarat GPS UAV dengan

menggunakan Software-Defined Radio (SDR).

Perkara yang akan dibincangkan dalam tesis ini ialah:

1. Modulasi bentuk gelombang yang sesuai untuk jamming isyarat GPS.

2. Faktor yang boleh mempengaruhi keberkesanan isyarat jamming.

Perisian utama yang akan digunakan dalam projek ini ialah GNU Radio Companion,

iaitu perisian sumber terbuka. GNU Radio Companion membenarkan pengguna

ii
mereka bentuk program noise block dan menjalankan ujian simulasi sebelum noise

block tersebut diuji dengan perkakasan (SDR). Kajian ini terdiri daripada simulasi

awal dalam perisian, dan ujian makmal secara langsung dan ujian lapangan.

Semasa ujian makmal, SDR akan disambungkan kepada Penganalisis Spektrum

untuk membandingkan keputusan dengan simulasi. Untuk ujian lapangan, penguat

isyarat (amplifier) dan antena akan disambungkan ke SDR dan sebuah UAV dengan

fixed-wing akan digunakan sebagai sasaran untuk signal jamming. Hasil kajian ini

boleh digunakan sebagai usaha untuk menentang penyalahgunaan teknologi UAV ini.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

iv
 APPROVAL

The Examination Committee has met on 10th September 2015 to conduct the final
examination of Ahmad Danial Bin Abdul Rahman on his degree thesis entitled
‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) GPS Jamming By Using Software Defined Radio
(SDR) Platform’.
’.

The committee recommends that the student be awarded the Master of Science
(Electrical and Electronics Engineering)

Members of the Examination Committee were as follows.

Brigadier General Professor Dato’ Dr. Shohaimi bin Abdullah

Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia
(Chairman)

Associate Professor Dr. Omar bin Zakaria

Faculty of Defence Science and Technology
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia
(Internal Examiner)

Ir. Dr. Ali bin Mohammad

Faculty of Science and Technology
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(External Examiner)

v
 APPROVAL

This thesis was submitted to the Senate of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia
and has been accepted as fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science (Electrical and Electronics Engineering). The members of the Supervisory
Committee were as follows.

Mejar Prof Madya IR DR. Kamaruddin Bin Abdul Ghani (B)

Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia
(Main Supervisor)

Lt Kol Prof. Madya Dr. Khairol Amali Bin Ahmad

Faculty of Defence Science and Technology
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia
(Co-supervisor)

vi
 UNIVERSITI PERTAHANAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF THESIS

Student’s full name : Ahmad Danial Bin Abdul Rahman

Date of birth :
Title :
Academic session :

I hereby declare that the work in this thesis is my own except for quotations and
summaries which have been duly acknowledged.
I further declare that this thesis is classified as:
CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the official
Secret Act 1972)*
RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the
organisation where research was done)*
OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis to be published as online open
access (full text)
I acknowledge that Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia reserves the right as
follows.
1.1 The thesis is the property of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia.
2.1 The library of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia has the right to
make copies for the purpose of research only.
3.1 The library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic
exchange.

Signature **Signature of Supervisor/Dean of CGS/

Chief Librarian

IC/Passport No. **Name of Supervisor/Dean of CGS/

Chief Librarian

Date: Date:
Note: *If the thesis is CONFIDENTAL OR RESTRICTED, please attach the letter
from the organisation stating the period and reasons for confidentiality and
restriction.
** Witness
vii
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Page
ABSTRACT I
ABSTRAK ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
APPROVAL v
DECLARATION vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
LIST OF TABLES x
LIST OF FIGURES xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii

CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Problem Statement 3
1.3 Objectives 3
1.4 Scope and Limitation of Study 2
1.5 Significance or Research 3

2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Overview of GNSS 5
2.1.1 Navigation Message 8
2.1.2 GPS Ranging Codes 10
2.1.3 GPS Frequency Information 11
2.1.4 GPS Signal Power 12
2.2 Radio Frequency Interference 13

3 METHODOLOGY/MATERIALS
3.1 Jamming Signal Waveform Identification 16
3.2 Jamming Signal Evaluation Method 17

4 EXPERIMENT AND RESULT

4.1 Experiment 1: Identifying Suitable Signal Waveform 18
4.1.1 Experiment Set-Up 18
4.2 Experiment 2: Field Test 19
4.2.1 Drone Set-Up 19
4.2.2 Software Set-Up 20
4.2.3 Hardware Set-Up 20
4.3 Experiment Results 22
4.3.1 Experiment 1: Identifying Suitable Signal 22
Waveform
4.3.2 Experiment 2: Field Test 23

5 CONCLUSION 27

viii
REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY 28

ix
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

1 Carrier frequency and their function

2 The chipping rate for each carrier frequency 12

3 Power level of GPS signals (*C/A code is not encoded into 13

L2 band……
4 GPS signal jamming result 22

5 The jamming signal at 1.5 m altitude……… 24

6 Jamming result at 25 m altitude 25

7 Jamming result at 50 m altitude 25

8 Jamming result at 100 m altitude 26

x
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE

Pie chart representing the percentage sales of drone from

1 2
different brand
Representation on how trilateration helps in identifying
2 7
specific location
Fourth satellite allows more precise coordinate without the
3 7
help of atomic clock
4 Navigation message structure 9
5 Carrier frequency and their function 11
(1) theoretical spectrum of tone jamming. (2) theoretical
spectrum of barrage jamming. (3) theoretical spectrum of
6 15
sweep jamming. (4) theoretical spectrum of pulse jamming.
(5) theoretical spectrum of protocol-aware jamming.
7 Equipment set-up to identify suitable signal waveform 18
8 GPS module used in this experiment. 19
9 Interference protective layer under the GPS antenna. 19
10 Jamming Signal block construction in GNU Radio software. 20
11 Hardware configuration for field test 20
12 Hardware set-up of UAV GPS Jammer. 21
13 Field test experiment conduct. 23
14 DJI application interface that shows GPS signal reception. 24

xi
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ABS Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.

AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise
BPSK Binary Phase Shift Keying
C/A Carrier Acquisation
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
DJI Da-Jiang Innovation
DSSS Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
GNU GNU’s Not Unix
GPS Global Positioning System
HOW Handover Word
ISM Industrial, Scientific, and Medical
LDPA Log Periodic Dipole Antenna
NAVSTAR Navigation, Satellite Timing And Ranging
PPS Precise Positioning Service
PRN Pseudorandom Noise
RFI Radio Frequency Interference
SDR Software Defined Radio
SPS Standard Positioning Service
TLM Telemetry Words
UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
USA United State of America

xii
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Current commercialize unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or popularly known as

drones, appear to be changing the game in regards to aviation. The market for drones

has been expanding rapidly, the applications of drones are growing more diverse, and

the cost of the machines themselves is dropping (Flynn, 2013). These gadgets have

become more common and affordable for government, commercial and private use.

There are plans to try and use drones to revolutionize everything from shipping to

border control, and the trend towards greater use of UAVs shows no sign of slowing

(Sivakumar & Naga Malleswari, 2021).

Figure 1 shows the drone sale graph categorize by their brands. DJI is a company

based in China lead the market by 50% of the total sale. This shows the technology

is rapidly growing but also creates an enormous potential of hazard due to misuse of

UAVs. As the drone industry is taking off, some individuals and groups have started

using drones for malicious purposes around the globe.

1
 Figure 1. Pie chart representing the percentage sales of drone from different brand.

There are cases where these drones were used to smuggle drugs across the border and

into the prison. It just a matter of time that these commercial UAVs will be used to

spy on any government confidential information or even carrying small explosive

charge. Misuse of UAVs will become a serious threat not only to the public safety

and privacy, but also to the national security.

Being aware of this possible threat, some company makes money by providing a

solution against the potential privacy breach. One of the solution involved an anti-

drone system which being sold for hundreds of thousand US Dollar. Even for a simple

drone jammer would still cost a lot of money. Usually, a drone signal jammer will

come with two signal band, one will jam the GPS signal and another one will jam the

ISM band (Wi-Fi) which is the communication signal for the UAV. This thesis will

be focusing on the GPS signal jamming part.

This study will be using DJI technologies as a model reference since DJI is the leading

brand in drone technology. The purpose of this study is to develop a low-cost signal

2
jammer by using GNU Radio, an open source software that allow signal processing

operations via software and Software-Defined Radio (SDR) as the hardware. SDR is

a radio communication system where most of the hardware components (mixers,

filters, amplifiers, modulators/demodulators, detectors, etc.) are replaced with

software/firmware to carry out signal processing task.

1.2 Problem Statements

As stated in the introduction, this thesis aims to develop and create a low-cost UAV
jammer by using SDR. To achieve this target, there are a few questions and problems
that need to be answer.

1. Can a simple method or simple block designed using GNU Radio will be able
to jam the GPS signal of a UAV?

2. What is the best signal type or waveform to be use in the jamming signal?

1.3 Objective of the Research

The main objective of this research is to develop a low-cost UAV’s GPS jammer by

using available SDR in the market. In order to fulfil the ambition, I have come out

with several objectives that need to be achieve based on the questions raised in the

problem statement.

i. To identify the most effective signal waveform to be used in the jamming

signal

ii. To study the suitable method or block design in GNU Radio

3
1.4 Scope and limitation of the study

As mentioned before, this research will be focusing on jamming the GPS signal of a

drone. To be more specific, this development will only focus on L1 band of the GPS

signal since the DJI drones only use L1 band of the GPS signal to operate. The L2

band will not be covered since the facilities does not have the equipment or GPS

receiver that works on L2 band to test it effectiveness.

1.5 Significance of the study

As mentioned in the introduction, the significance of this research is to provide a

counter-measure or contingency plan against the rapid growth of drones’

technologies. As the technology become more common, the possibility of this

technology falls onto the wrong hand will definitely increases hence the effort to

provide a counter-measure in order to neutralized the threat. The result of this research

could also be used to contribute into our national defence security system R&D.

4
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will be briefly explained about the GNSS systems with the main focus

will be on the GPS. For this thesis, we have identified and characterize different radio

frequency interference and will be focusing on only in signal jamming. A brief review

of how jamming can affect the GNSS receiver stages is also addressed in this thesis.

Relevant jamming research are reported and finally, the SDR technology is presented

with a choice being made regarding the SDR equipment that is going to be used for

the tests.

2.1 Overview of GNSS

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) refers to a constellation of satellites

providing signals from space that transmit positioning and timing data to GNSS

receivers (Yasith Ramawickrama, Jude Wijesekera, Hiruni Wijesooriya, 2016). The

GNNS receivers then use this data to determine altitude, latitude and longitude.

Examples of GNSS which provide global coverage include the USA’s NAVSTAR

Global Positioning System (GPS), Europe’s Galileo, Russia’s Global'naya

Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) and China’s BeiDou

Navigation Satellite System (Yasith Ramawickrama, Jude Wijesekera, Hiruni

Wijesooriya, 2016). Although the GNSS satellites vary in age and design but their

principal operation remains the same. The term GNSS and GPS is often used referring

to each other since GPS is so called the mother of GNNS. Operational since 1978 and

globally available since 1994, GPS is currently the world's most utilized satellite

5
navigation system (Yasith Ramawickrama, Jude Wijesekera, Hiruni Wijesooriya,

2016). GPS was originally developed by US Air Force as the navigation system and

was restricted for US military used only. But now the technology is used in every

civilian application such as in Aviation, Agriculture, Marine, Public Safety &

Disaster Relief and even Recreation (Baker, 2017). GPS now has been an essential

service as the internet.

The GPS constellation of satellites orbits the Earth once every 11 hours, 58 minutes

and 2 seconds at medium-orbit altitude. The GPS require a minimum of 24

operational satellite in six different orbital planes in order to calculate 3-D positioning

(Dziadczyk et al., 2007).

Each satellite transmits coded signals which contain the satellite’s precise orbit details

and a very stable time stamp from an atomic clock (Choudhary, 2020). The receivers

use trilateration method to determine precise location by computing the difference

between the time that a signal is sent and the time it is received by at least from 3

satellite (Rashmi Bajaj, Samantha Lalinda Ranaweera, 2015) . Trilateration are often

confused with triangulation which measures angles. GPS trilateration only involves

measuring distances by using the difference from the signal received from the 3

different satellite. The receiver must account for propagation delays, or decreases in

the signal's speed caused by the ionosphere and the troposphere. With information

about the ranges to three satellites and the location of the satellite when the signal was

sent, the receiver can compute the position where the 3 satellite signal is intercept

(Baker, 2017). An atomic clock synchronized to GPS is required in order to compute

6
the ranges from these three signals. Using three distances, trilateration can pinpoint a

precise location (Pistoia, 2009)

Figure 2. Representation on how trilateration helps in identifying specific location.

However, by taking a measurement from a fourth satellite, the receiver avoids the

need for an atomic clock. Thus, the receiver uses four satellites to compute latitude,

longitude, altitude, and time . (Administration, n.d.)

Figure 3. Fourth satellite allows more precise coordinate without the help of atomic clock.

7
2.1.1 Navigation Message

Satellite navigation system such as GPS, Galileo and GLONASS continuously send

signal transmission towards the receiver. These signals were transmitted using the

Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) technique which have higher resistance

against interference or jamming in open channels (Bernard Hofmann Wellenhof,

Herbert Lichtenegger, 2001). The data signals were initially transmitted using 2

different carrier frequency which is L1 band (1575.42 Mhz), L2 band (1227.60 Mhz)

(Dziadczyk et al., 2007). These carrier frequencies were modulated to carry

information about the satellite which is Pseudorandom Code that act as satellite

identification, Ephemeris Data which contains information regarding satellite health

status, date and time, and lastly Almanac Data which contains data on nearby satellite

in the constellation.

Satellite navigation messages were coded into bit data where each words is made out

of 30 bits. Navigation message is constructed from 25 frames where each frame is

further divided into five subframes. Each subframes contains exactly 10 words.

Hence, to sum it up each subframes contains 300 bits and five subframes makes up a

single frame which contains 1500 bit. Since satellite navigation message consist of

25 frames, hence the entire navigation message contains 37,500 bits data which takes

12.5 minutes to broadcast (Sickle, 2020).

8
 *TLM :Telemetry
How :Handover word
Figure 4. Navigation message structure.

The illustration above shows the structure of a single frame that are constructed by 5

subframes. The 300 bits in a subframe are grouped into 10 words of 30 bits each. The

first and second words in each subframe carries a characteristic marker bit pattern

(Telemetry word, TLM) and a time tag (Handover word, HOW). Each subframes on

the message structure carries different kind of information which are set on the third

to tenth words on the subframes (Beyerle et al., 2009). The first subframes carries

information regarding the satellite health, position and velocity, as well as clock

correction. The second and third subframes carries ephemeris data while fourth and

fifth subframes carries almanac data which shows complete constellation of the GPS

satellite.

9
2.1.2 GPS Ranging Codes

GNSS was first developed to accommodate military operation. For example, GPS

was developed by the US Department of Defence for navigation, reconnaissance,

tracking and other military purposes. It was until 1980s the system was made for

civilian application (Pistoia, 2009). GPS satellite transmits message via carrier

frequency (L1 band, L2 band and newly available L5 band (Saleem et al., 2017)) by

Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation. Each of the carrier frequency were

encoded with two ranging codes which is C/A (Carrier Acquisition) code and P(Y)

code that are generated by Pseudorandom Noise (PRN) codes.

The C/A code or also refers as the Standard Positioning Service (SPS) is a 1.023-bit

long pseudorandom codes that has chipping rate of 1.023 Mbps which are available

for civilian uses. The Precision (P) code is refers as Precise Positioning Service (PPS)

which are not available to civilian user and are used only by military and authorized

user (Alexandre Martins Da Silva, 2017). This code is a long period code with 2x1014

bit long pseudorandom code that has chipping rate of 10.23 Mbps. The P code is

encrypted with a special encryption secret sequence named W-code that generates the

Y code which create the encrypted P(Y) code when necessary.

There is about 24 to 31 operational satellite in the constellation and they are all

transmitting signal using the same carrier frequency (L1, L2, and L5 band) at the same

time (Sharma & Ashok, 2012). In order to prevent the signals from interfering with

each other, the receiver should be able to distinguish from which satellite it is

receiving signals from. Each satellite use Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

10
that generate modulated PRN code which are specifically unique for each satellite to

prevent cross-correlation. This unique code is also known as Gold code or Gold

sequence (Kang et al., 2013) (Oxley, 2017) (J. B. Y. Tsui, 2005).

2.1.3 GPS Frequency Information

In order for the receiver to receive GPS signal from the satellite, the signal must be

modulated onto carrier frequency in order to travel through space. The initial GPS

design were to transmit data using these two carrier frequencies which is L1 band

(1575.42 Mhz), L2 band (1227.60 Mhz) (Saleem et al., 2017). However, increasing

demand for more advance and efficient positioning services in term of accuracy,

integrity, continuity and availability on the existing system has led to the

modernization of the GPS system which trigger the development of a new carrier

frequency to accommodate those demands (Sabatini et al., 2017). Table 2.1 lists the

bands and frequencies of the recent GPS system as well as their use.

Band Frequency (Mhz) Modulation Usage

In-phase(I) P(Y) code
L1 1575.42 (10.23 x 154)
Bi-phase (B) C/A code,
Bi-phase (B) P(Y) code
L2 1227.60 (10.23 x 120)
Bi-phase (B) L2 civilian (L2C)
Nuclear Detonation (NUDET) event
L3 1381.05 (10.23 x 135) -
code
L4 1379.913 (10.23 x 1214/9) - Additional ionospheric correction
In-phase(I) Safety-of-Life (SoL) Data Signal
L5 1176.45 (10.23 x 115)
Bi-phase (B) Safety-of-Life (SoL) Pilot Signal
Table 1. carrier frequency and their functions

The L1 and L2 band carrier frequency transmit the C/A code (L1 band only) and their

P(Y) code using Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK). New carrier frequency such as

L5, L2C also undergo signal modulation using BPSK modulation except for L1C

11
which use Binary Offset Carrier (BOC). However, each of the carrier frequency have

different chipping rate for each code.

Carrier L1 L2 L2C L5 L1C

Frequency
Chipping 1.023 (C/A),
0.5115 0.5115 10.23 1.023
Rate, Mcps 10.23 (P(Y))

Table 2. The chipping rate for each carrier frequency

2.1.4 GPS Signal Power

According to a study, GPS signal is very weak power output which is about 50 W

(Ferreira et al., 2020). The transmitted signals need to travel through space (20,000

km towards earth) and earth complex landscape in order to reach the receiver antenna.

As the signals spread across the earth surface evenly, the signals power dissipate

which cause reduction to the antenna gain. This happens mainly due to the signal

transmission path loss, as the field strength of the signal is inversely proportional to

the square of distance from the transmitting source (Bernard Hofmann Wellenhof,

Herbert Lichtenegger, 2001).

As the signals power decreases towards the receiver, the resulting antenna gain

becomes weak. The power level is so weak that it barely exceeds the radio frequency

noise level. The minimum power of the GPS signals at the receiver antenna output

should be- as stated in the table below (J. B.-Y. Tsui, 2003).

P C/A

L1 -133 dBm -130 dBm

L2 -136 dBm -

Table 3. Power level of GPS signals (*C/A code is not encoded into L2 band).

12
2.2 Radio Frequency Interferences

GPS navigation system relay on radio frequency as a medium of communication to

transfer data and information to the user. In the event of Radio Frequency Interference

(RFI) occur, degradation of data accuracy, loss of data, and delay in response are one

of the possible result which can impact an operation (William Emery, 2017). RFI is

defined as the effect of unwanted energy on reception in a radio communication

system as a result of one or a mix of emissions, radiations, or inductions, manifested

by any performance degradation, misinterpretation, or loss of information that could

have been extracted in the absence of such unwanted energy (Agency, 2020). RFI can

occur in two ways which is intentional and unintentional interference. Unintentional

interferences occur mostly due to external factor that cannot be controlled such as

reflected radio frequency transmitted from other devices around the receiver antenna

(Setlak & Kowalik, 2021). Intentional interference occur when there is deliberate

attempt on disrupting the radio frequency such as signal jamming, spoofing and

meaconing which cause loss or poor connection with the receiver (Wildemeersch &

Fortuny-guasch, 2010).

When it comes to intentional radio frequency interference, signal jamming is one of

the most common method of RFI (Agency, 2020). Signal jamming are conducted by

transmitting a signals with specific frequency range to interrupts or “overwhelm” the

targeted radio frequency. Signals jamming can be categorized into 5 techniques with

each apply different method in interrupting radio frequency (Ferreira et al., 2020).

13
 Jamming Techniques Method
1. Tone Jamming Narrow-band jamming which target specific low
bandwidth frequency with high power density signals.
Broad-band jamming which target specific frequency
2. Barrage Jamming bandwidth which cause interference to whole
targeted spectral.
A combination of both tone jamming and barrage
3. Sweep jamming jamming by changing frequency to another in the
specific bandwidth while focusing power density at a
time.
Transmits signal according to the interval which is
4. Pulse Jamming set depending on the target which can result in either
low bandwidth or high bandwidth jamming.
Imitate the protocol parameters of the target which
prevents interference with other communication
5. Protocol-Aware Jamming systems operating on the same RF band with very
low energy requirements and low probability of
detection.

1 2

3 5

Figure 5. (1) theoretical spectrum of tone jamming. (2) theoretical spectrum of barrage jamming. (3) theoretical
spectrum of sweep jamming. (4) theoretical spectrum of pulse jamming. (5) theoretical spectrum of protocol-aware
jamming.

14
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRO

In order to use SDR as part of low-cost UAVs GPS signal jammer development, there

are basically two factors that are needed to be clarify in order to successfully develop

a suitable low-cost UAVs GPS signal jammer;

1. Jamming signal waveform identification.

2. Jamming signal evaluation method.

3.1.1 Jamming Signal Waveform Identification

One of the objectives of this studies is to identify a suitable and efficient signal

waveform to be used as the jamming signal. We have designed an experiment set-up

where we will find the suitable waveform for this studies. In the set-up, it will consist

of signal emitter and signal receiver. The signal emitter consists of a laptop installed

with GNU Radio software where the signal noise block is configured which then

connected to a SDR device where the configured signal is generated. The signal

receiver would be consisting another laptop but with a different arrangement which

it is connected with a receiver antenna and a spectrum analyser where the received

signal waveform is analysed and recorded. For this experiment, five (5) type of signal

waveform is tested to identify their capabilities with different amplitude. The results

15
from this set-up will helps identifying the most suitable and efficient waveform to be

used for signal jamming.

3.1.2 Jamming Signal Evaluation Method

After the specific jamming signal waveform has been identified, the signal is then

proceeds to be used on the actual field test where it will be used on a DJI drone. The

field test is conducted to further test the capability and the performance of the

identified signal waveform. The field test will be conduct based on two manipulated

variables which is the distance between the drone and the sources of the jamming

signal (antenna), and the other one will be the elevation angle between the antenna

and the elevated/hovering drone. These two variables will be applied on the drone

and the result would be whether or not the jammer able to jam or block the GPS signal

from reaching the drone’s antenna. The data will be collected and summarised to

understand the effect of the two variables on the capability and performance of the

jamming signal waveform.

16
 CHAPTER 4

EXPERIMENT AND RESULT

4.1 Experiment 1: Identifying Suitable Signal Waveform

4.1.1 Experiment Set-Up

Figure 6. Equipment set-up to identify suitable signal waveform

In order to find a suitable waveform for jamming signal, an experiment has been

conducted. Figure 3 shows the equipment set-up to identify suitable and effective

jamming signal waveform. A laptop installed with GNU Radio software which is used

to configure the signal waveform are connected to the SDR (HackRF) where the

configured signal is generated. The generated signal is then transmitted using the

directional antenna (LDPA) towards the receiver.

Another laptop which act as the receiver unit is attached with a GPS antenna receiver

is placed 1 meter away from the jamming signal transmitter. The laptop is connected

with a spectrum analyser which is used to measure the signal output generated by the

SDR. They are five type of signal waveform that being tested which are the Cosine,

Triangle, Sawtooth, Square and Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN). Each of

17
this waveform is emitted with different amplitude to identify which waveform works

best in the given amplitude.

Figure 7. GPS module used in this experiment.

4.2 Experiment 2: Field Test

4.2.1 Drone Set-Up

In this experiment, we will be using the DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone as the target for the

signal jamming as this drone use the GPS signal for satellite navigation system which

is a crucial part of the objective for this experiment. The GPS antenna on the DJI

Phantom 4 Pro is located on the top side of the drone which is located under the ABS

cover.

Figure 8. Interference protective layer under the GPS antenna.

18
4.2.2 Software Set-Up

The jamming signal for the field tests will be constructed using the GNU Radio

software which has been installed in the laptop. The software provide multiple noise

sources block which can be used to configure the signal waveform. In this set-up, the

Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) is used as the noise source block (shown in

Figure 5) as it shows the most promising results in jamming GPS signal.

Figure 9. Jamming Signal block construction in GNU Radio software.

4.2.3 Hardware Set-Up

Figure 10. Hardware configuration for field test

19
After the noise source block configuration is completed, the information is sent to the

SDR where it will generate the configured signal. For the field test purpose, a power

amplifier and a directional antenna is added to the hardware configuration as shown

in Figure 6. In order to fully test the performance of the jamming signal, the

experiment is conducted with different range and elevation angle. This experiment

will also help us understand the relationship between the distance of the drone with

the signal jammer and the elevation angle towards the performance of the jamming

signal.

Figure 11. Hardware set-up of UAV GPS Jammer.

20
4.3 Experiment Results

4.3.1 Experiment 1: Identifying Suitable Signal Waveform

For this experiment, the five type of signal waveform tested on this experiment are

Cosine, triangle, Sawtooth, Square and Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN).

Each of this signal waveform is emitted with different amplitude level to identify their

capabilities with different power level.

Table 4. GPS signal jamming result.

Each of the signal waveform is tested with different amplitude level which is 0.2, 0.4,

0.6, 0.8, and 1.0. In order to check whether the signal waveform has successfully

jammed the GPS signal, the receiver unit will read any available GPS signal. If there

is no GPS signal reading detected, it shows that the emitted signal waveform has

successfully jammed the GPS signal. Table 1 shows the results of different signal

waveform used to jam the GPS signal. Based on the data summary, AWGN shows

the most promising results in jamming the GPS signal as it can successfully jammed

the GPS signal at each level of amplitude.

As a result of this experiment, the Additive White Gaussian Noise waveform the is

the most suitable and efficient waveform to be used to jam a GPS signal.

21
4.3.2 Experiment 2: Field Test

Figure 12. Field test experiment conduct.

For the field test, the antenna is levelled approximately 1.5 meter from the ground.

The drone will hover at 4 different altitude levels which is 1.5 m, 25 m, 50 m, and the

highest one will be at 100 m. The jamming signal will also be tested at different

elevation angle where at each altitude, the drone will hover at 50 m, 100 m, and 150

m away from the jammer antenna. The distance and the altitude of the drone is

retrieved from the DJI application during the field test as shown in Figure 9. In order

for the signal jamming to be considered success, the satellite count detected must be

in between 0 to 3 which will cause interruption to the drone GPS navigation system.

22
 Figure 13. DJI application interface that shows GPS signal reception.

At altitude of 1.5 m, the elevation angle is equal to 0 degree since the antenna is also

placed at 1.5 m above the ground. Hence, the distance between antenna and drone is

equal to the absolute distance. The table below shows that at 0 degree elevation, the

GPS signal are successfully jammed by the signal jammer at 50 m, 100 m, and 150 m

range.

Altitude (m) 1.5

Distance (m) 50 100 150
Elevation Angle (°) 0 0 0
Absolute Distance (m) 50 100 150
Result ✅ ✅ ✅

Table 5. The jamming result at 1.5 m altitude.

23
At altitude of 25 m, The elevation angle decreases as the distance between the antenna

and the drone increase. The maximum effective distance of the jammer is at 100 m

with elevation angle of 14.04 degree and absolute distance of 103.08 m as shown in

Table 3.

Altitude (m) 25
Distance (m) 50 100 150
Elevation Angle (°) 26.57 14.04 9.46
Absolute Distance (m) 55.90 103.08 152.10
Result ✅ ✅ ❎

Table 6. Jamming result at 25 m altitude.

At altitude of 50 m, the maximum effective distance of the jammer is at 100 m with

elevation angle of 26.57 degree and absolute distance of 111.80 m as shown in Table

4.

Altitude (m) 50
Distance (m) 50 100 150
Elevation Angle (°) 45 26.57 18.44
Absolute Distance (m) 70.71 111.80 158.11
Result ✅ ✅ ❎

Table 7. Jamming result at 50m altitude.

At altitude of 100 m which is the highest point in this field test, the jammer failed to

interrupts the GPS signal of the drone at all distance. During this test, a similar

absolute distance is recorded when the test is conducted at different altitude point. At

altitude of 50 m with elevation angle of 26.57 degree, the GPS signal were

successfully jammed by the jammer. However, at altitude of 100 m with 63.44 degree

24
elevation angle, the jammer failed to jam the GPS signal. This is due to the design of

the DJI drone that have a copper protective layer that are applied under the drone’s

GPS antenna. The copper layer manages to blocks the jamming signal or at least

reduce the jamming effect.

Altitude (m) 100

Distance (m) 50 100 150
Elevation Angle (°) 63.44 45 33.69
Absolute Distance (m) 111.80 141.42 180.28
Result ❎ ❎ ❎

Table 8. Jamming result at 100 m altitude.

25
 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

The technology in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will keep on growing as there

are constant demand for a better user experience. This technological improvement

has the potential to expand it currents capability to an even wider range of application

which can benefits the future generation. However, as the technology development in

UAV can be advantageous to the society, it also can pose as a threat as it increases

the risk of using the UAV for a miscellaneous purpose. This is the reason this studies

is conducted which is to better improve our understanding on how we can use SDR

and GNU Radio software to create a GPS signal jammer as a counter measure against

such event.

26
 REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Administration, F. A. (n.d.). Satellite Navigation - GPS - How It Works GPS - How

It Works. U.S Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/te

chops/navservices/gnss/gps/howitworks#:~:text=An

Agency, C. and I. S. (2020). RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE BEST

PRACTICES GUIDEBOOK (Issue February).

Alexandre Martins da Silva, D. (2017). GPS Jamming and Spoofing using Software

Defined Radio. University Institute of Lisbon.

Baker, B. (2017). The Global Positioning System.

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/phys_capstoneproject/44

Bernard Hofmann Wellenhof, Herbert Lichtenegger, J. C. (2001). Satellite Signal. In

james C. Bernard Hofmann Wellenhof, Herbert Lichtenegger (Ed.), GPS:

Theory and Practice (Fifth Edit, pp. 71–85). Springer-Verlag Wien.

Beyerle, G., Ramatschi, M., Galas, R., Schmidt, T., Wickert, J., & Rothacher, M.

(2009). A data archive of GPS navigation messages. GPS Solutions, 13(1), 35–

41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-008-0095-y

Choudhary, M. (2020). So how GNSS works ? GW PRIME.

https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/how-gnss-works/#:~:text=Each

Dziadczyk, E., Zabierowski, W., & Napieralski, A. (2007). Satellite navigation

system GPS. The Experience of Designing and Application of CAD Systems in

Microelectronics - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference, CADSM

2007, 504–506. https://doi.org/10.1109/CADSM.2007.4297633

Ferreira, R., Gaspar, J., Sebastião, P., & Souto, N. (2020). Effective GPS Jamming

Techniques for UAVs Using Low-Cost SDR Platforms. Wireless Personal

27
 Communications, 115(4), 2705–2727. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-020-

07212-6

Flynn, E. P. (2013). Low-cost approaches to UAV design using advanced

manufacturing techniques. ISEC 2013 - 3rd IEEE Integrated STEM Education

Conference, 7–10. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECon.2013.6525199

Kang, T., Li, X., Yu, C., & Kim, J. (2013). A Survey of Security Mechanisms with

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Signals. Journal of Computing Science and

Engineering, 7(3), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.5626/JCSE.2013.7.3.187

Oxley, A. (2017). Signals From Satellites to Receiver—GPS. In Uncertainties in GPS

Positioning (pp. 61–70). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-809594-

2.00004-6

Pistoia, G. (2009). Industrial Applications (Except Road Vehicles). In Battery

Operated Devices and Systems (pp. 163–320). Elsevier.

https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-53214-5.00004-2

Rashmi Bajaj, Samantha Lalinda Ranaweera, D. P. A. (2015). GPS: Location-

Tracking Technology. Computer, 35(4)(April 2002), 92–94.

https://doi.org/10.1109/2.993780

Sabatini, R., Moore, T., & Ramasamy, S. (2017). Navigation satellite systems

performance analysis and augmentation strategies in aviation. Progress in

Aerospace Sciences, October, 1–54.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2017.10.002

Saleem, T., Usman, M., Elahi, A., & Gul, N. (2017). Simulation and performance

evaluations of the new GPS L5 and L1 signals. Wireless Communications and

Mobile Computing, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7492703

Setlak, L., & Kowalik, R. (2021). Study and analysis of interference signals of the lte

28
 system of the gnss receiver. Sensors, 21(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/s21144901

Sharma, R., & Ashok, V. (2012). GPS Signal Structure: A Look Behind the Scene

Beacon Placement Optimization for 3D Indoor Localization View project GPS

Signal Structure: A Look Behind the Scene. In V. A. Ravi Sharma (Ed.), 8th

International Conference on Microwave, Antenna, Propagation & Remote

Sensing (pp. 56–61). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261459750

Sickle, J. Van. (2020). The Navigation Message. GEOG 862: GPS and GNSS for

Geospatial Professionals. https://www.e-

education.psu.edu/geog862/print/book/export/html/1734

Sivakumar, M., & Naga Malleswari, T. Y. J. (2021). A literature survey of unmanned

aerial vehicle usage for civil applications. Journal of Aerospace Technology and

Management, 13. https://doi.org/10.1590/jatm.v13.1233

Tsui, J. B.-Y. (2003). GPS C/A Code Signal Structure. In J. B. Y. Tsui (Ed.),

Fundamentals of Global Positioning System Receivers (pp. 73–108). John Wiley

& Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471200549.ch5

Tsui, J. B. Y. (2005). Fundamentals of Global Positioning System Receivers: A

Software Approach: Second Edition. In Fundamentals of Global Positioning

System Receivers: A Software Approach: Second Edition. Wiley.

https://doi.org/10.1002/0471712582

Wildemeersch, M., & Fortuny-guasch, J. (2010). Radio Frequency Interference

Impact Assessment on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (M. Wildemeersch

& J. Fortuny-guasch (eds.); Issue January). JRC Publication Repository.

https://doi.org/10.2788/6033

William Emery, A. C. (2017). Microwave Radiometry. In A. C. William Emery (Ed.),

Introduction to satellite Remote Sensing (Vol. 4). Elsevier.

29
 https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809254-5.00004-X

Yasith Ramawickrama, Jude Wijesekera, Hiruni Wijesooriya, R. D. (2016). The

Future of GNSS in the next Ten years. In R. D. Yasith Ramawickrama, Jude

Wijesekera, Hiruni Wijesooriya (Ed.), Conference: 3rd Asia Pacific Space

Generation Workshop (3rd AP-SGW). Researchgate.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309575401

30