Why Precise Positioning is Essential in Transportation Projects

October 20, 2025 - By Jesse Khalil

Precise positioning technology serves as the backbone of modern infrastructure and transportation systems worldwide. From the initial construction phases of major transportation projects to the daily movement of vehicles, goods and people, GNSS has become indispensable for ensuring safety, efficiency and accuracy.

Its importance becomes clear when examining projects such as Norway’s Rogfast Tunnel, where centimeter-level positioning accuracy — less than 2 cm — is essential for safe construction and operations. These integrated systems deliver the real-time, high-precision positioning that construction teams, fleet operators and transportation networks rely on each day.

However, this growing dependence on GNSS technology has created vulnerabilities in everyday transportation operations near war zones. A real-world ground transportation jamming and spoofing test in Haifa, israel, revealed how precision systems that enable critical operations can be disrupted, exposing a weakness for transportation in contested environments. As technology becomes more sophisticated and GPS-dependent, they paradoxically become more susceptible to electronic interference and accessible jamming and spoofing equipment.

In this cover story, we examine the full spectrum of GNSS applications in transportation — from the construction of subsea ground tunnels to smart fleet management systems, to operations seeking to defend ground vehicles against electronic warfare tactics.