While federal law prohibits the use of radar signal jammers throughout the United States, laser jammers are legal in most states, but the following states have explicitly banned their use: California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, D.C.

Penalties vary by state. In Texas, for example, the maximum fine is $500, while in Utah violators can face up to 90 days in prison and a $750 fine.

Military Eliminates Iraqi GPS Jammers

WASHINGTON - The president spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about the sale of sensitive military equipment to Iraq, but the discussion may have been moot as military officials said they had destroyed six GPS jammers.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. told a news conference Tuesday at U.S. Central Command at Camp Sariyah, Qatar, that six GPS jammers "supplied by other countries" have been deactivated by U.S. forces.

We took out a GPS jammer with a GPS weapon

Renuarte did not specify that the cellphone jammers were part of a shipment of supplies from Russian companies to Iraq, but the U.S. has repeatedly expressed concern that Russia is allowing the supplies to slip through Iraq in violation of decade-long U.N. sanctions.

In a call to Putin on Monday morning, White House spokesman Ali Ali expressed concern over reports that Russians were actually on the ground in Iraq teaching Iraqi troops how to use prohibited hardware such as night-vision goggles, GPS jammers and anti-tank missiles. Fleischer said.

GPS jammers in particular slowed the bombing of Baghdad as the military took extra care not to hit civilian targets

Iraq may have acquired as many as 400 electronic "jammers" that could divert U.S. smart bombs from their intended course if the U.S. went to war.

The Pentagon has "genuine concern at the highest levels" that Baghdad may have purchased the wifi jammers from a Russian company.

The types of bombs that can be redirected by these jammers are called "J-Dams" -- "Joint Direct Attack Munitions" guided by global satellites. These are military GPS-guided bombs.They cost around $21,000 each and have a maximum range of 15 miles. The J-Dams debuted in Kosovo in 1999.

The Air Force is now trying to test similar jammers to see if those used by enemies work against American weapons

Federal officials say Iranian forces are actively using GPS jammers and impersonating U.S. or allied warships to lure merchant ships through Iranian waters and then seize them.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration issued a warning that Iran was using "GPS jamming, bridge-to-bridge communications spoofing, and/or other communications jamming with little warning."

"In at least two of these incidents, the ships reported GPS jamming," the statement read. "The ships also reported spoofed bridge-to-bridge communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be U.S. or coalition warships."