WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russia is growing a comparative advantage in spoofing capabilities to disrupt Global Navigation and Satellite Systems (GNSS), the US-based Center for Advanced Defense (C4ADS) think tank said in a report.

"We detect and analyze patterns of GNSS spoofing in the Russian Federation, Crimea, and Syria that demonstrate the Russian Federation is growing a comparative advantage in… GNSS spoofing capabilities to achieve tactical and strategic objectives at home and abroad", the report said on Tuesday.

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The report identified 9,883 alleged suspected instances of spoofing that affected 1,311 civilian vessel navigation systems since 2016. These activities, according to the report, "are much larger in scope, more diverse in geography, and longer in duration than any public reporting suggests to date".

This comparative advantage in these capabilities, the report added, will allow Russia to counter NATO surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance technologies.

"Russia’s continued development and deployment of systems designed to spoof GNSS and counteract NATO’s decisive advantage in C4ISR capabilities at forward operating locations in Syria and Kaliningrad presents a unique challenge to the security of critical national infrastructure", the report said.

The report also claims to expose alleged use of GPS spoofing in war zones in Syria for airspace denial purposes.

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C4ADS, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, said the report relied heavily on software services and geospatial analysis provided by Palantir, a US defense contractor. The Kremlin has previously denied using GPS to jam equipment during NATO exercises.