Russia jammed the GPS signal of a plane carrying the British defense minister near its borders
A Royal Air Force aircraft carrying Defense Minister John Healey experienced GPS interference during a flight near the Russian border.
This was reported by the BBC.
The incident occurred on Thursday, May 21, as the head of the British Ministry of Defense was returning to the UK after visiting British troops in Estonia.
According to media reports, Russia is likely involved in the jamming of the GPS signal.
Due to the interference, the aircraft’s navigation system was unavailable for approximately three hours of flight time. As a result, the crew had to switch to an alternative navigation system.
It is currently unknown whether John Healey was a deliberate target of the attack.
At the same time, it is noted that the flight path could be tracked via open aviation services, which could have allowed third parties to identify the defense minister’s plane.
The incident occurred amid rising tensions between Russia and NATO countries, as well as an increase in cases of electronic interference with navigation systems in the Baltic Sea region.
Russia constantly monitors British military satellites in space. The Kremlin is attempting to gather information from them.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Russia is engaging in aggressive actions against German space communications. In this regard, he called for increased investment in space infrastructure.
As a reminder, European Commission President von der Leyen commented for the first time on the incident involving the jamming of her plane’s GPS.
Additionally, in the first four months of 2025, more than 122,600 flights in northern Europe experienced jamming of GPS and other satellite systems.
