The Evolving GNSS RFI Threat Space

Long term monitoring, classification, and detailed analysis of radio frequency interference (RFI) events in the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) bands can help to inform the operating parameters of GNSS systems such as availability and continuity at a given site, while also giving system manufacturers and researchers the ability to assess the variety, occurrence rates, and evolving characteristics of various types of intentional and unintentional GNSS interference. This paper presents the analysis of more than a decade of aggregated GNSS interference site monitoring collected by the advanced RFI detection, analysis, and alerting system (ARFIDAAS) network with particular focus on the dominant types of RFI as observed at the various locations, the distribution of power levels of the emissions sources creating these disruptions, the derived occurrence rates of RFI and ratios between the different GNSS signals and frequency bands as well as their combinations. A discussion of the evolution of the observed state-of-the-art jamming signal structures is also provided.