Meaconing
Encyclopedia
Meaconing is the interception and rebroadcast of navigation signals. These signals are rebroadcast on the received frequency to confuse enemy navigation. Consequently, aircraft or ground stations are given inaccurate bearings. Meaconing is more of a concern to personnel in navigation ratings than to radio operators. However, communications transmitters are often used to transmit navigation signals. Since communications personnel operate the transmitters, they must know how to deal with any communications problems resulting from meaconing.
Successful meaconing can cause: Aircraft to be lured into "hot" (ambush-ready) landing zones or enemy airspace, ships to be diverted from their intended routes, bombers to expend ordnance on false targets, or ground stations to receive inaccurate bearings or position locations.
, meaconing of the GPS signal is used to send a Royal Navy
frigate
off course.
In the novel and miniseries of the John J. Nance
novel Pandora's Clock
, an attempt to warn the airliner about an impending attack is summarily dismissed as meaconing.
Successful meaconing can cause: Aircraft to be lured into "hot" (ambush-ready) landing zones or enemy airspace, ships to be diverted from their intended routes, bombers to expend ordnance on false targets, or ground stations to receive inaccurate bearings or position locations.
In popular culture
In the film Tomorrow Never DiesTomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...
, meaconing of the GPS signal is used to send a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
frigate
Type 23 frigate
The Type 23 frigate is a class of frigate built for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. All the ships were first named after British Dukes, thus the class is also known as the Duke class. The first Type 23 was commissioned in 1989, and the sixteenth, was launched in May 2000 and commissioned in...
off course.
In the novel and miniseries of the John J. Nance
John J. Nance
John J. Nance is an American pilot, aviation safety expert, and author. His novels are largely about aviation, while his non-fiction covers various other areas.-Biography:Nance was born in Dallas, Texas...
novel Pandora's Clock
Pandora's Clock
Pandora's Clock is a 1996 Television movie based on a novel by John J. Nance about a deadly virus on a Boeing 747-200 from Frankfurt to JFK Airport...
, an attempt to warn the airliner about an impending attack is summarily dismissed as meaconing.
See also
- Radio JammingRadio jammingRadio jamming is the transmission of radio signals that disrupt communications by decreasing the signal to noise ratio. Unintentional jamming occurs when an operator transmits on a busy frequency without first checking whether it is in use, or without being able to hear stations using the frequency...
- Interference (communication)Interference (communication)In communications and electronics, especially in telecommunications, interference is anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a signal as it travels along a channel between a source and a receiver. The term typically refers to the addition of unwanted signals to a useful signal...
- Korean Air Lines Flight 007 alternate theories#Meaconing