- An RAF plane carrying Minister John Healey was jammed near the Russian border.
- During the flight, the GPS was not working and they had to use alternative navigation.
- It was not possible to connect phones and laptops to the Internet on board.
- In March 2024, they also jammed the GPS of the RAF plane with Minister Grant Shapps.
A British Royal Air Force (RAF) plane carrying the UK Defense Secretary had its signal jammed while flying near the Russian border. John Healey visited British troops in Estonia and was returning to Britain when the electronic attack occurred, The Times reported on Sunday. TASR writes about it based on a report from the DPA agency.
The newspaper reported that Russia is believed to be behind Thursday’s incident. Phones and laptops on board the plane could not be connected to the Internet, and the pilots had to use an alternative navigation system, because the plane’s GPS was disabled during the entire three-hour flight. It is not known if Healey was the target, but the route of his flight was also seen on websites that track the movement of aircraft, reported The Times.
The incident came just days after Britain’s Ministry of Defense announced it had intercepted two Russian fighter jets “repeatedly and at dangerous” distances from an RAF reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea. The Su-35 flew so close to him that it activated his emergency systems, including turning off the autopilot. The Su-27 fighter, in turn, approached the reconnaissance aircraft within six meters and made six passes in front of it.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said it was the most dangerous Russian incident against its Rivet Joint aircraft since 2022, when missiles were fired at it over the Black Sea. In March 2024, they jammed the GPS of the RAF plane, in which the then Defense Minister Grant Shapps was traveling, during a flight near Russian territory. There was no satellite signal for about 30 minutes on the way back from Poland to the UK.
