Ships' geolocation signals go haywire in the Persian Gulf
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · May 11
Ships' geolocation signals go haywire in the Persian Gulf
4 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · May 11
Around 120 vessels appeared about an hour inland from Abu Dhabi, while roughly a dozen near the Oman-UAE border showed implausible speeds above 100 knots.
Tracking data also showed the larger cluster apparently moving at nearly 50 knots without any change in position, indicating intensified GPS interference after fresh Iranian attacks on neighbouring countries.
The disruptions point to rising risks for navigation around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor, as regional tensions deepen following the latest attacks.
As phantom ships appear on radar, who is responsible for the next catastrophic maritime disaster?
Is China's satellite network the secret weapon behind Iran's naval dominance?
With GPS spoofing closing the world's oil artery, is a global recession now inevitable?
The 2025–2026 Electronic Warfare Surge in the Strait of Hormuz: Risks, Responses, and the Future of Maritime Trade
Overview
As of May 2026, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz remain at the center of escalating electronic warfare activities, driven by persistent regional tensions and increasingly sophisticated EW systems among both state and non-state actors. The U.S. Navy has responded by strengthening its electronic warfare capabilities, but incidents like GPS jamming and spoofing continue to expose vulnerabilities in navigation systems, especially for commercial shipping. These developments highlight how electronic warfare has become a crucial, non-kinetic tool in ongoing power struggles, posing new challenges for maritime security and requiring constant adaptation by all parties involved.