A test facility to help the military counter GPS jamming efforts is being built at the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Boscombe Down site in Wiltshire.

The ‘silent hangar’, which has a far greater capacity than existing UK facilities, will be large enough to fit some of the biggest military assets, including Protector drones, Chinook helicopters and F-35 fighter jets.

As well as other technologies, planes rely on satellite-based GPS for positioning, navigation and timing. GPS jamming occurs when a frequency transmitting device is used to block or interfere with radio communications that are stronger than the satellite-based GPS signals.

GPS jamming or spoofing GPS signals is increasingly used during warfare to disrupt airborne vehicles or critical economic, defence and strategic activities. Earlier this year, it was reported that Russia had been jamming the GPS systems of thousands of flights to and from Europe since around August 2023.

The MoD said the new facility will be used to develop...