Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 24
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?