Exail: Providing navigation resilience in a GNSS-disrupted world

The offshore industry is at a turning point. As satellite disruptions grow more frequent and unpredictable, navigation resilience has become a strategic and operational imperative

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ON June 13, 2025, at the height of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the Middle East saw one of the most extensive global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) disruptions ever recorded.

Signals were jammed or spoofed far beyond the conflict zones, diverting flights, disorienting ships, and disabling navigation systems.

What began as a military tactic soon revealed how fragile global reliance on satellite navigation has become.

The disruptions didn't stop with the war. In October, Qatar's Ministry of Transport suspended maritime navigation due to a “technical malfunction” in GNSS — proof that interference, once rare, is now routine across the region.

For the offshore industry, where precision drives safety and profitability, these events expose a fundamental weakness.

The question is no longer whether GNSS can be trusted, but how to operate when it fails. In this new reality, navigation resilience has become an operational imperative,” says Emmanuel Sgherri, Sales Director, UAE and ME, Exail.

CIVIL OFFSHORE CHALLENGE: BEYOND MILITARY CONCERNS

GNSS disruptions are often framed as a defence or national security issue, but their impact on civil offshore operations is equally significant.

In oil and gas exploration, offshore wind construction, seabed mapping, and subsea cable installation, precise positioning is not just technical, it underpins safety and efficiency.

When GNSS fails, the effects are immediate: Dynamic positioning systems can malfunction during drilling, risking damage or spills; cable and pipeline laying may halt, causing costly delays; and hydrographic surveys lose accuracy, compromising infrastructure data.

For contractors and vessel operators, this means downtime, project overruns, and greater financial and safety risks.