Russia has been jamming the GPS on hundreds of RAF flights travelling over Eastern Europe this year with Grant Shapps‘ flight targeted on its way back from Poland in March.
In-depth analysis has revealed the dangers of such practices to both civil and military flights and gives an insight into the extent of Russia’s meddling with aviation.
And a whopping one in four transport and surveillance journeys from January to April 2024 were affected by the interference into GPS (global positioning system), according to a Flight Radar 24 study into data from thousands of flights.
The detailed analysis into 1,467 flights made by 63 RAF aircraft across Eastern Europe and the Middle East showed 142 RAF transport and surveillance flights out of 504 across Eastern Europe had been subject to the jamming.
One in eight, amounting to 60 journeys, were the victim of repeated attempts to jam GPS systems.
The number of RAF flights affected soared to 40 per cent went taking into account flights travelling across the eastern Mediterranean.
Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary told The Telegraph: ‘This is another example of Russia’s recklessness and more evidence that they are an out-of-control hostile state.
‘Thankfully our planes and pilots can see off this threat but it illustrates president Putin’s contempt for the West and for the international rules-based order.’
Shapps was affected by Russian jamming three months ago while heading back from a trip to Poland as it flew near its Kaliningrad enclave yesterday.
Click here to resize this module
The RAF Dassault Falcon 900’s primary GPS system and its satellite communications were blocked for approaching 30 minutes.
The attack took place on his return journey from Poland. Details of the Defence Secretary’s flight out to the UK’s NATO ally was tracked on social media.
Mr Shapps was conducting a day trip to eastern Europe to meet UK troops taking part in Exercise Steadfast Defender – the biggest NATO manoeuvres since the Cold War.
The aircraft flew within 60 miles of Kaliningrad on its return journey yesterday evening having departed RAF Northolt in west London that morning.
Hundreds of commercial flights operating in the same airspace have reported similar problems in recent months as the Kremlin steps up its Electronic Warfare (EW) campaign against the West.
Without GPS, pilots lose their situational awareness – effectively, they are unaware of their location – which in a worse case scenario could cause a fatal collision.
According to UK defence sources there was no threat to Mr Shapps’ aircraft yesterday as it is equipped with back-up systems which Russia failed to penetrate.
Typhoons, F-35 fighter jets, A400M transport aircraft and Voyager troop planes have all been affected.
The planes analysed in the recent study each had a transponder which broadcasts a number valuing how accurate the GPS is and when this figure drops below a given threshold, experts say it is a reliable sign that jamming is taking place.
C-17 cargo and A400M carrying fleets, as well as the RC-135 surveillance plane were also involved in the analysis.
While the jammer which targeted the Defence Secretary’s flight was located in the Kaliningrad exclave, which is a section of Russian territory on the shores of the Baltic Sea, Moscow also conducts some jamming from Syria, according to geopolitical experts.
Meanwhile, some jamming signals may originate in Israel as a buffer against potential GPS-guided weapons launched by Hamas.
The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.
MailOnline has also approached the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for comment.