RAF Jet Carrying Healey Loses GPS for 3 Hours Near Russian Border
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 24
RAF Jet Carrying Healey Loses GPS for 3 Hours Near Russian Border
9 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 24
An RAF jet carrying UK Defence Secretary John Healey had its GPS disabled for about three hours on Thursday as it flew back from Estonia near the Russian border.
Pilots switched to an alternative navigation system after the signal was jammed; Russia is believed to be behind the interference, though it is unclear whether Healey himself was deliberately targeted.
The flight came a day after details emerged of a separate April encounter in which Russian Su-35 and Su-27 fighters dangerously intercepted an RAF Rivet Joint over the Black Sea, including passes as close as 6 metres.
The latest disruption adds to a pattern of Russian pressure on UK military flights: an RAF plane carrying then-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps also had its GPS jammed near Russian territory in 2024.
Is Russia's electronic warfare against VIP jets the prelude to a wider conflict with NATO in the Baltics?
As GPS jamming becomes a common threat, how vulnerable are the world's military and civilian aircraft that depend on it?
How can the West counter Russia’s 'gray zone' attacks without escalating them into an all-out war?