An RAF jet carrying the UK’s defence secretary was struck mid-flight by Russian electronic warfare, it has been claimed. The Dassault Falcon 900LX aircraft was flying near the Russian border when the satellite signal suddenly dropped.
The jet’s GPS stopped working for the three-hour flight back from Estonia, where John Healey had been visiting British soldiers, and laptops and smartphones could not connect to the internet. Pilots had to resort to back-up navigation systems to pinpoint their location and fly the aircraft back safely.
However, a defence source told The Times it was “reckless” Russian interference. They said that while the RAF was “well prepared” to deal with situations such as this, it could have had the potential to impact civilian aircraft. It is unclear if the defence secretary was deliberately targeted.
Political and military advisers were also on board, as well as a three-star lieutenant general, two photographers and a reporter.
GPS-jamming equipment functions by transmitting radio “noise” on the same frequency as GPS satellites, overpowering the relatively weak satellite signals so that a GPS receiver cannot calculate its position. The electronic attacks can be operated from aircrafts, drones, or vehicles on the ground.
The interference is believed to have kicked in while the aircraft was close to Russian territory, but it impacted the whole flight because the only way to restore the system is to reboot the jet, which is impossible while flying.
Mr Healey had been in Estonia receiving briefings at a covert location with troops from 4th Light Brigade, nicknamed the Black Rats. They are among thousands of soldiers positioned to deter any potential interference from Russian units 25 miles away.
The Black Rats have developed drone warfare capabilities similar to Ukrainian frontline forces, and they are authorised to deploy new fixed-wing kamikaze drones resistant to electronic jamming, which can run without GPS.
Mr Healey said he was “working on” getting the British forces more equipment to defend the border, after he was informed they possesed fewer than a fifth of the first-person-view drones needed.