Finnish troops—and maybe you—still need maps

Finland’s army is retraining its troops in manual navigation methods, including use of paper maps and compasses, skills that many have left behind in the age of GPS and Google Maps.

The renewed focus on basic skills is a response to lessons drawn from the war in Ukraine, where electronic warfare has disrupted both Russian and Ukrainian operations. “Everyone has recognised the fact that GPS can be spoofed, and you might not be able to rely on it,” a Finnish colonel told Helsinki Times.

And, given the number of stories we’ve all seen over the years of Google Maps and other GPS-based map systems sending drivers into lakes, onto roads that don’t exist or to wrong destinations, it it’s not only the military that should continue to understand and use paper maps. As well as providing routes, they offer a useful overview of an area with much more information than simply point-to-point directions.