Counterspace capabilities are spreading, and GPS jamming is rising with them

Space competition is becoming more operational

A new report from the Secure World Foundation suggests that the global counterspace landscape is growing broader, busier, and more dangerous. The organization’s ninth annual Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment says jamming against GPS and other position, navigation, and timing satellites, along with communications satellites, is increasing even as more countries pursue ways to disrupt or neutralize space systems.

The report, released on April 8, draws on open-source material in multiple languages covering the period from March 2024 to March 2025. Its central conclusion is not that space warfare has suddenly become fully destructive, but that military interest in counterspace tools is expanding and that active interference with satellites is already part of the operating environment.

Non-destructive methods are leading the trend

One of the report’s clearest findings is that only non-destructive capabilities are actively being used against satellites in current military operations. That distinction matters. It means the threat picture is serious, but it is still dominated by methods such as jamming, spoofing, hacking, and electronic interference rather than by kinetic attacks that create physical debris in orbit.

Even so, the Secure World Foundation argues that the consequences of widespread counterspace use could extend far beyond the military. Modern economies and civil infrastructure depend heavily on space-based services, particularly positioning, navigation, timing, and communications. A campaign that disrupts those services would not remain confined to the battlefield for long.

More countries, more incentives

The report says a growing number of militaries are pursuing both non-lethal and lethal counterspace capabilities. Breaking Defense highlighted one especially visible change from the 2025 edition: Germany was added as the 13th nation actively pursuing counterspace capability following its September 2025 military space spending plan and its first space security strategy in November 2025.

That addition is notable less because Germany is expected to mirror the most aggressive space powers than because it illustrates how counterspace thinking is broadening. What was once concentrated among a small group of states is becoming a more common feature of national defense planning. The incentives are increasing because military operations now rely so heavily on satellite-enabled services, and because adversaries increasingly see those services as vulnerable pressure points.

Why GPS jamming matters beyond the military

Rising GPS jamming is one of the most consequential points in the new assessment. GPS and similar systems underpin logistics, navigation, precision timing, and synchronization across civilian and military networks. Interference with those signals can affect ships, aircraft, emergency response, financial systems, and telecom infrastructure as well as troops in the field.

The report’s warning is therefore not just about a technical niche inside military space operations. It is about the growing normalization of actions that can degrade shared infrastructure that entire societies now depend on.

Bodyguard satellites and a more complex orbital future

Breaking Defense also noted another trend identified in the assessment: the rise of so-called bodyguard satellites that shadow and defend high-value military and intelligence spacecraft from potential attack. That points toward a more active and contested orbital environment, where satellites may not just provide services but may also be tasked with protection, monitoring, and deterrence roles.

If that trend continues, space security will become less about isolated anti-satellite tests and more about persistent maneuver, counter-maneuver, and interference across multiple layers of orbit. The strategic result is an environment in which ambiguity increases, norms are tested more frequently, and attribution becomes more important.

The report does not describe a world in which destructive counterspace war is already routine. It does describe a world in which the threshold for disruptive action in orbit and against satellite services is getting lower. That alone is a major shift, and it is one with implications far outside the space sector.

• The Secure World Foundation says GPS and satellite jamming are rising globally.
• The report finds that non-destructive counterspace methods are the ones actively used in current military operations.
• Germany was added as the 13th nation actively pursuing counterspace capability in the latest assessment.

This article is based on reporting by Breaking Defense. Read the original article.