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FURUNO ELECTRIC Joins Experts From Around the World on a Norwegian Island for Jammertest 2024

Norway is located in Northern Europe on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula, boasts a dramatic coastline. Fjord-lined inlets snake from the North Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean, while the country shares maritime borders with Denmark to the south, land borders with Sweden to the east, and Finland to the north, beyond which lies Russia. This strategic position makes Norway a vital hub for both maritime and overland traffic within Europe.

Andøya, an island situated approximately 1,000 kilometers northwest of Oslo, the Norwegian capital, boasts the small fishing village of Bleik. Nestled amidst glacier-carved cliffs and the vast Arctic Ocean, Bleik experiences the unique phenomena of the midnight sun in summer and the polar night in winter. This remote location also plays host to an extraordinary annual event: Jammertest, the world's largest open GNSS jamming and spoofing field-test, draws participants from across the globe to Bleik for a week each September.

The World's Largest Jamming and Spoofing Field-Test Event

Debuting in 2022, Jammertest, according to its organizers, is "a project aimed at bolstering the security of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems. This initiative seeks to fortify the digital infrastructure underpinning modern life and safeguard critical services from disruption. Jammertest is a collaborative effort involving Norwegian government agencies responsible for traffic control, communication, defense, metrology, geodesy, and space exploration, as well as the local company Testnor." As detailed in my previous article, "Knowing the 'Now' of Our Earth Through GNSS," the threat of GNSS interference is a clear and present danger in Europe, driving the development of interference detection and mitigation strategies. For Jammertest 2024, the event's third iteration, FURUNO ELECTRIC dispatched development engineers to Norway, marking the first Japanese participation. Chief Engineer Kunihiko Hashimoto (System Products Division, Development Department) embarked on his journey from Osaka International Airport (Itami Airport), commencing a series of five consecutive flights.

Mr. Hashimoto recounted his team's experience: "This marked FURUNO's Development Department's inaugural participation in Jammertest. Although FURUNO FINLAND OY's involvement alongside the Finnish navy last year, this signified the FURUNO brand's second appearance.
Our test equipment, had journeyed from Japan to Finland, then traversed Sweden via a FURUNO FINLAND van over two days before reaching its destination in Norway. In Bleik, the small fishing village hosting the field-tests, accommodations were fully booked, necessitating our stay in Andenes, a nearby village approximately ten minutes from Bleik by car. We prepared our own meals while commuting between Andenes and Bleik for the tests. As the first Japanese representatives, we were warmly welcomed by the event organizers."

An Ideal Location That Leverages Favorable Natural Topography

While widely understood, GNSS positioning signals underpin a vast array of applications, from measurement and navigation to time synchronization, forming a critical component of modern society's information infrastructure. During Jammertest, transmission equipment, positioned on a cliff overlooking the fishing port, emitted jamming signals—according to a pre-publicized schedule—at intensities sufficient to neutralize GNSS signals, as well as spoofing signals designed to mimic legitimate GNSS positioning data. The area's pristine natural environment, enclosed by cliffs, provided a naturally optimized test site, effectively containing the interference. Jammertest utilized three test areas: the first site in Bleik ; second "sandbox" area for drones and other small remotely piloted aircraft and vehicles; and third "motorcade" area, a designated road section for vehicle testing.
Additionally, aircraft and helicopter tests were conducted within and around the airport. This diverse approach allowed Jammertest to accommodate the varied needs of international participants.

A Time-Difference Advantage for Japanese Participants

At a Bleik facility resembling a Japanese community center, the Japanese team joined fellow industry participants and guests, evaluating equipment and recording jamming and spoofing signals using time-synchronized receivers. The facility utilized White Rabbit, a high-precision time synchronization protocol based on PTP, to receive reference time signals from a cesium atomic clock, enabling sub-nanosecond-level accuracy.

"Initially, our preparations allowed us to manage the interference effectively. It posed no significant challenge," explained Mr. Hashimoto. "However, subsequent tests revealed unexpected behaviors and responses. Leveraging the time difference between Norway and Japan, we transmitted data to Japan after each day's testing, capitalizing on the fact that late nights and early mornings in Norway correspond to regular business hours in Japan. Arriving in Japan around dawn, the data enabled developers there to promptly devise countermeasures and validate them the following day in Norway, creating a highly efficient operational cycle. This time difference proved a considerable advantage for our Japanese team in the development verification process."

Following his intensive week in Norway, Hashimoto returned to Japan and collaborated with the support engineering team to identify further issues through additional testing and develop countermeasures. Concurrently, he actively presented their findings at academic conferences both domestically and internationally. Reflecting on his Jammertest experience, Hashimoto found the close collaboration with global professionals highly rewarding.

"An audience at a conference aptly described Jammertest as the 'Tenkaichi Budokai* of GNSS.' Like that martial arts tournament, experts from around the globe convened on a remote island to demonstrate their honed skills. However, Jammertest wasn't a competition for individual victory. Instead, these seasoned professionals, veterans of industry rivalries, united to confront a greater challenge. "

This unparalleled, globally unique test, conducted in an exceptional natural setting, has strengthened FURUNO's capabilities.

The 'Tenkaichi Budokai', world martial arts tournament, is a fictional competition featured in Akira Toriyama's manga series Dragon Ball.