Oil Tankers Collide Near Strait of Hormuz Amid GPS Interference and Rising Space-Based Navigation Disruptions

Two oil tankers collided near the Strait of Hormuz in June 2025 in an incident widely attributed to GPS interference, Forbes reported. The collision occurred as spoofing attacks on satellite navigation systems increased across the region. A spike in GPS signal distortion has affected European NATO member nations since 2023.

The United Nations aviation agency’s assembly rebuked Russia in October 2025 for satellite interference. Interference has left commercial vessels navigationally blinded and struggling to maneuver in the strait. Nations involved in the conflict with Iran have generated an electronic fog to counter drone attacks, which has also disrupted civilian traffic, CNN reported in March.

Spoofing techniques, often executed from ground-based assets as observed in Ukraine since 2023, now include evidence of space-based assets according to a January 2026 report by the British Royal Institute of Navigation. The U.S. Space Force released a documentary last year outlining threats to space infrastructure, including orbiting satellite killers and satellites with robotic arms.

An April report by the Secure World Foundation noted increased incentives for offensive counterspace capabilities, with North Korea adopting new military space policies and Russia and China experimenting with anti-satellite systems. The U.S. Space Force launched a GPS satellite into medium Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral in April 2026 and has deployed satellites with M-code technology to resist jamming.

Germany outlined a new space strategy in 2025 to monitor and deter malicious activity in space, and its government report stated that Russia and China support North Korea and Iran in developing military space programs. China prepared to launch its Zhuque-2E Y6 carrier rocket carrying two satellites on June 9, 2026. A U.S.