Insistent disruptions to navigational signals in Eastern Europe affected over 1,600 airplanes, including civilian aircraft, in less than a span of two days, as reported by open-source analysis amidst ongoing jamming issues in the airspace surrounding the Baltic Sea.
During the nearly 48-hour period of jamming, 1,614 airplanes were impacted, with a significant number being civilian aircraft traversing the Baltic region in Eastern Europe, according to an open-source intelligence source known for its regular tracking of GPS interference.
An initial map shared by the source illustrated widespread jamming occurrences over Poland and southern Sweden early on Saturday, with a subsequent map indicating interference primarily in certain areas of northern Poland. Aircraft operating near the Baltic region, along with several NATO member nations in Eastern Europe, have registered instances of GPS signal interference.
Deliberate interference or spoofing of Global Positioning System (GPS) and broader Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals can disrupt the navigation systems of manned or unmanned aircraft, potentially leading them to perceive incorrect locations.
The recent surge in GPS interference in Eastern Europe has been attributed to jamming activities in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, an exclave situated between NATO allies Poland and Lithuania, which serves as a strategic base for one of Russia’s major naval fleets.
According to publicly accessible data tracking GPS jamming and interference, significant levels of interference were predominantly concentrated in northeastern and northwestern Poland on Monday. It is widely believed that Russia possesses substantial electronic warfare (EW) capabilities in Kaliningrad.
“Russian armed forces have a wide spectrum of military equipment dedicated for GNSS interference, including jamming and spoofing, at varying distances, duration and intensity,” a Lithuanian defense official said earlier this month.
