Flights in turmoil: Russian jamming dangers over Baltic skies

"The Sun" has highlighted that numerous British holiday flights have experienced disruptions due to Russian signal jamming. Aviation sources describe this tactic as "extremely dangerous" and tantamount to "warfare in the air." It renders satellite navigation systems inoperative, causing airplanes to have difficulty reporting their locations.

Ryanair clarified that the crew will switch to alternative navigation systems when GPS systems fail. However, ingesting false data has forced airplanes to alter their course and altitude to avoid non-existent obstacles, "The Sun" reported.

Automatic dependent surveillance broadcasts, which airplanes use to inform control towers of their location, were critically analyzed. These signals, which assess the performance of satellite navigation, indicated low-performance levels, suggesting occurrences of jamming or spoofing.

Last month, the number of suspected interferences with satellite navigation surpassed 350 weekly, a notable increase from the previous year's average of about 50 such incidents per week.

In a notable incident in March, Russia jammed the GPS signal on the plane carrying UK Defense Minister Grant Shapps to Poland, causing approximately 30 minutes of disruption. This occurred as the plane was flying near a Russian oblast. Pilots were compelled to resort to alternative navigation methods, a necessity that repeated on the return journey.

Vladimir Putin's forces are accused of interfering through jamming and spoofing tactics. Jamming obscures authentic satellite signals, including GPS and the European Galileo system, while spoofing involves broadcasting false signals and misleading aircraft about their actual location, as reported by "The Sun."

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned of the trend in January and noted "a sudden increase in the number of attacks consisting of jamming and spoofing." However, it did not explicitly name the perpetrators.