Maritime, aviation, and defense operations all depend on GPS for positioning, navigation, and timing. But, as our infographic highlights, that dependence comes with real risk: GPS is vulnerable to jamming and spoofing, and relying on it alone creates a single point of failure.

That risk is becoming harder to manage. Reported interference incidents continue to rise across key regions, including a 127% rise in Baltic incidents between Q1 and Q2 2025, more than 1,000 vessels affected in Sudan and the Red Sea in 2025, and 5,655 flights spoofed in the Nicosia FIR in July to August 2024.

Why Modern GPS Threats Demand More Than Anti-Jamming

For a long time, disruption was often discussed mainly as a jamming problem. However, attack methods evolve, and disruption can now shift rapidly between jamming and spoofing. These are not the same threat; jamming tries to deny the signal, whereas spoofing tries to deceive the receiver. A solution that focuses only on anti-jamming may still struggle when an attack alternates between blocking the signal and imitating it.

That’s why resilience has to be about more than signal protection alone. It has to be about maintaining a trusted source of positioning even when GNSS is disrupted, denied, or manipulated.

What A-PNT actually means

A-PNT is best understood as a resilience approach, not a single technology. As the infographic sets out, it adds redundancy, position cross checking, trusted timing, and operational continuity when GNSS alone cannot be relied on. A-PNT isn’t “one new signal replacing GPS”; it’s a broader strategy for reducing dependence on a single vulnerable source.

Where Iridium PNT fits

Iridium PNT supports a broader A-PNT strategy by providing a completely separate source of PNT, with zero dependence on GPS. That independence is critical. If a backup still depends on GNSS somewhere in the chain, it may inherit the same vulnerability. Iridium PNT operates as a wholly separate system, giving operators an independent source they can use when GNSS is disrupted or cannot be trusted.

It also brings a major security advantage: the signal is encrypted and authenticated. In practical terms, that makes spoofing exceptionally difficult, because the receiver is not simply accepting any signal that appears plausible; it’s validating a trusted source.

Why that matters operationally

In the real world, navigation resilience is defined by whether a system continues to deliver trusted data under pressure. That means operators need more than a warning that GNSS has been compromised. They need:

• An independent source of position and timing
• Confidence that the source itself is trusted
• Continuity if infrastructure is damaged
• A solution that works with the systems they already use.

RockFLEET Assured is designed for use in contested and high risk operating environments. Its architecture supports flexible installation, with compute power in the above-deck unit and cable runs of up to 100 meters. That means the unit can be installed away from the bridge in a discreet location, making it harder to identify, harder to interfere with, and harder to damage deliberately.

If a cable is cut or a unit is attacked, what matters next is whether visibility disappears immediately. RockFLEET Assured includes backup battery capability, allowing continued transmission for a period even after cable loss. That additional continuity can matter enormously in a live incident. Even limited continued reporting can preserve situational awareness, support response, and reduce the risk of going blind at the worst possible moment.

Another key strength is flexibility. RockFLEET Assured can be used with our chartplotter, with a customer’s own chartplotter, or integrated into wider bridge systems. That gives operators multiple options to adopt resilient PNT capability without being forced into a rigid operational model. For many customers, the easier a resilient system is to integrate into existing workflows, the more likely it is to be deployed effectively and trusted by crews.

GPS still plays a vital role, but it is no longer enough on its own

As jamming and spoofing attacks become more sophisticated, more deceptive, and more hostile, operators need more than detection. They need trusted alternatives, genuine independence from GNSS, interoperability with existing systems, and resilience that holds up in the real world.

A-PNT helps by reducing dependence on one vulnerable source. Iridium PNT strengthens that approach by providing an encrypted, authenticated, wholly separate, satellite-based PNT capability, and RockFLEET Assured makes that capability operationally useful: survivable, flexible, interoperable, and built for continuity under pressure. That is what modern navigational resilience looks like.

Given that 90% of international trade is carried by sea, maritime safety is fundamental. For most of the modern maritime era, the formula was relatively simple: assess the route, understand the threat environment, adapt operating procedures, and, when justified by risk, place experienced personnel on board to deter, respond, and protect. That approach still matters, but it is no longer sufficient.

Today, merchant shipping is delegating a far broader range of responsibilities to private maritime security companies (PMSCs). The remit is no longer limited to protection from physical threats; increasingly, it also includes support for the operational risks created by disruption to critical onboard systems. One of the clearest and fastest growing examples is navigation resilience.

For maritime security providers supporting secure fleet operations, advising owners and operators, and delivering risk-managed transit, this change is already taking shape in practice. Clients may not use the term “A-PNT” (Assured Position, Navigation, and Timing), and they may not explicitly ask for “navigation resilience”. But the expectation is there nonetheless: in the questions they raise, the incident reporting they request, and the operational standards they increasingly assume are in place. The reason is straightforward: when positioning fails at sea, it becomes a security issue whether anyone labels it that way or not.

Security Has Expanded Beyond the Physical

The biggest misconception in maritime security right now is thinking this is a niche technical issue, something for bridge teams, electronics specialists, or a ship’s IT provider, when in practice, it has become a frontline operational risk.

GNSS disruption, jamming, and spoofing are no longer rare anomalies confined to active conflict zones. Independent analysis by C4ADS has documented widespread maritime spoofing events affecting thousands of vessels, particularly in the Black Sea and the Middle East. Subsequent advisories from the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) and UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) have continued to warn of GPS interference affecting commercial traffic in multiple regions.

When a vessel loses trustworthy position and timing, the impact cascades fast. Routing decisions become uncertain, safety margins shrink, bridge teams hesitate, and in high consequence waters, uncertainty becomes vulnerability. That’s why navigation resilience is moving into the security deliverables category. Not because it’s a buzzword, but because the outcomes are security outcomes – the ability to maintain control, continuity, and confidence in the vessel’s movements. And, as shipping companies continue to lean on third party providers to manage risk, the responsibility is naturally shifting to the people who already own the security mission.

Merchant Shipping Is Outsourcing Resilience, Not Just Risk

For shipping companies, the response is familiar. When risk grows faster than internal capacity, they outsource. First that meant physical protection. Then it meant intelligence and route advisory. Now it increasingly means outsourcing resilience, especially where failure has immediate operational consequences. Navigation is one of the clearest examples.

The New Scope of PMSCs

PMSCs are increasingly being drawn into questions that would once have remained strictly on the bridge:

1. What happens if GNSS becomes unreliable mid-transit?
2. How quickly can we detect spoofing versus simple signal loss?
3. How do we keep the bridge team confident in the vessel’s position when the primary reference is compromised?
4. What proof can we provide after the fact – to the owner, to insurers, to regulators, and to internal stakeholders – that the vessel maintained safe navigation?

These are no longer theoretical or hypothetical concerns and possibilities; they’re operational questions and sit directly inside the modern security mission. Marine insurers and P&I clubs such as Allianz and Gard have already published guidance highlighting navigation system vulnerabilities as emerging operational risks. The Nautical Institute’s Mariners’ Alerting and Reporting Scheme (MARS) has also captured incident reports reflecting confusion and degraded situational awareness linked to navigation system anomalies. In many cases, the crew onboard is highly competent but not equipped with the tools or the time to manage GNSS integrity issues in a repeatable way. But it’s not a training failure – it’s an equipment and process gap.

Why A-PNT Is Becoming the Navigational Standard

Where RockFLEET Assured Fits into Modern Maritime Security

RockFLEET Assured, powered by Iridium PNT, enters the market at a moment when PMSCs are increasingly expected to provide resilience as part of secure fleet operations, not just protection from physical threats.

Just as importantly, it’s built for repeatable deployment at fleet level. The system is delivered as a single above-deck terminal, with mounting options to suit different vessel types and superstructure layouts, reducing the need for vessel-by-vessel customization. Its IP66-rated enclosure is designed for exposed marine conditions, and no below-deck electronics are required unless bridge view is selected.

What Changes Operationally for PMSCs

PMSCs often operate under heightened expectations for compliance, documentation, and professionalism. Clients – corporate security teams, fleet operators, insurers, charterers – expect measurable capability, not procedural reassurance. Without A-PNT, disruption remains ambiguous. With it, disruption becomes detectable, documentable, and defensible. That shift strengthens operational reporting, reduces decision latency on the bridge, and improves client confidence. It becomes a deliverable in a security modeland part of how PMSCs define secure fleet operations in 2026 and beyond.

The Future of Maritime Security

The maritime security industry is not abandoning its roots: physical threats still exist, high-risk areas still demand proven experience, and human expertise still matters. But the center of gravity is shifting as electronic disruption, contested signal environments, and hybrid risk become normalized features of global shipping lanes. International policy bodies, insurers, and national governments have all acknowledged this reality in recent years.

The most forward-looking maritime security providers are therefore evolving from personnel-based security offerings to layered security and resilience platforms. They are expanding into technical advisory, electronic threat awareness, and operational continuity support. They are positioning themselves as secure fleet partners, not just voyage contractors, and A-PNT is one of the cleanest, most valuable additions to that stack.

The next era of maritime security will be defined by who can keep ships operating safely and confidently when the environment becomes contested physically, electronically, and operationally. Navigation resilience is becoming a security standard because disruption is becoming the norm, so for PMSCs responsible for secure fleet operations, this is the moment to lead. The companies that adopt assured A-PNT now through solutions like RockFLEET Assured will be the ones positioned to define what security means at sea over the coming years or more.