The newspaper said that analysis of data from thousands of flights showed that GPS signal disruptions occurred on more than one in four transport and surveillance flights in the first four months of 2024.
In March, GPS signal interference was detected on an RAF jet carrying Defense Minister Grant Shapps to Poland. This occurred while the aircraft was relatively close to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, which borders Poland to the northeast.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that this was not an isolated incident after conducting an analysis of data from the Flight Radar 24 portal, covering a total of 1,467 flights between January 1 and April 30 made over Eastern Europe and the Middle East by 63 RAF aircraft.
The data shows that of the 504 RAF transport and surveillance flights over Eastern Europe during that period, GPS jamming was reported in 142, with 60 repeated interference attempts.
The newspaper explains that each of the aircraft analyzed has a transponder that transmits a number that determines the accuracy of the onboard GPS system. When the number falls below a certain threshold, experts say this is a reliable indication that jamming is occurring.
Interference may not be deliberate
The British newspaper spoke to Dr. Tom Withington, a Royal United Services Institute associate fellow specializing in electronic warfare.
“This has a consequence from a navigation perspective and also from an air traffic control perspective,” Withington said.
“I don’t necessarily think the Russians are deliberately trying to cause mayhem to aviation by doing this jamming,” he added.
“But on the other hand, the jamming itself is very irresponsible.”
The British defense minister strongly condemned the actions.
“This is another example of Russia’s recklessness and more evidence that they are an out-of-control, hostile state,” Shapps said.
“Thankfully, our planes and pilots can see off this threat, but it illustrates President Putin’s contempt for the West and for the international rules-based order,” he added.
Israeli interference
The Sunday Telegraph also noted that the percentage of RAF flights reporting GPS signal jamming was even higher for those over the Middle East, where it was 40%. The newspaper concluded that this is likely to derive from Israeli interference.
The analysis included Airbus A330 MRTT tanker aircraft, Airbus A400M and Boeing C-17A transport planes, Boeing RC-135 surveillance aircraft, two Dassault Falcon business jets, and a specially equipped government Airbus Voyager used for VIP transport.
Although these are not first-line fighters and bombers, they are all a key part of Britain's defense capabilities.
