Estonia is observing more and more targeted interference in GPS satellite navigation, which it blamed on activities in neighboring Russia, DPA reported, BTA reported.
"Disturbances are becoming more frequent and their scope is increasing," said Ivar Vark, head of air traffic control in the Baltic country, which is part of the EU and NATO, on Estonian television today. "Every day we get 10 to 20 reports from pilots that there is GPS interference in some areas when they fly through Estonia."
Vark believes this is likely due to Russia's efforts to impede the activities and deployment of Ukrainian combat drones that can fly deep into its territory. Estonia's Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) claims that GPS signal interference is being transmitted to Estonia from Russia's Leningrad Oblast and that it has increased significantly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since last summer, more disturbances have been observed in Estonian airspace, initially mainly over the northeastern part of the country, DPA said. As of early 2024, the disruption zone has expanded to the Gulf of Finland and central Estonia, a spokesman for the authority told Estonian radio. Vark pointed out that so far there have been no passenger flight accidents in Estonia due to GPS interference.
"Very likely" Russia is responsible for the series of disruptions to GPS navigation in the Baltic Sea region, the German Defense Ministry said today, as quoted by Reuters.
The ministry pointed out that the Kaliningrad enclave is the source of the problem. "It is highly likely that the persistent disruptions to the global navigation satellite system are of Russian origin and are based on electromagnetic spectrum disturbances, including those originating in the Kaliningrad region," a ministry spokesman told Reuters, confirming a report by news site t -online. The spokesman declined to provide details on how Berlin arrived at its assessment or the exact nature of the interference, citing "military security reasons".
Kaliningrad is located between Lithuania and Poland on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It has had no direct land link with Russia since Lithuania declared independence during the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Reuters notes.
The Russian embassy in Berlin has not yet responded to the agency's request for comment. Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal of British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps' plane as it approached Kaliningrad last month. The aviation sector has expressed concern over the sharp increase in GPS interference linked to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Jamming GPS signals can cause problems for private airline planes, although they can usually find their way around in other ways.