Russia may be behind GPS jamming in Europe – Estonian army commander
Since last year, interference with satellite navigation systems has become more frequent in the Baltic region.
Russia is likely behind the increase in jamming of satellite signals used by airlines, smartphones, and weapons systems in Eastern Europe. This was stated by the Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Martin Herem, Bloomberg reports.
Herem believes that the Kremlin is responsible for the disruption of global positioning system signals, when interference with satellite navigation systems has become more frequent in the Baltic region since last year. A particular surge was registered this month in the area stretching from Finland to Poland and the Black Sea region.
“Someone is causing this, and we think it’s Russia,” Herem said.
He added that Moscow is likely doing this amid the risks of a potential future conflict with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“I think they are learning and testing,” the commander added.
He suggests that jamming can also be carried out from ships in the Baltic Sea.
“Russia has demonstrated its electronic warfare capabilities not only in Ukraine and the Baltic states. They are certainly quite strong in this,” said Herem.
The Estonian general also warned against Russian aggression. Fresh intelligence on Russia’s ability to produce munitions and recruit troops has prompted a reassessment among NATO allies and a series of warnings to prepare for a long-term conflict, he told Bloomberg.
GPS malfunctions in Poland and the Baltic States – what is known
As UNIAN reported, large-scale malfunctions of GPS systems have recently been reported in Poland and the Baltic region. This is likely the result of Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems operating in the region.
The Polish radio station Radio Zet cited data from the GPSJAM GPS interference tracking site from January 16. They showed an unprecedentedly high level of GPS jamming in northern and eastern Poland, including Warsaw and as far south as the city of Lodz.
The data also shows similarly high levels of GPS interference in the southern Baltic Sea and northwestern and central Poland between December 25-27, 2023 and January 10, 2024. Polish media believe that the disruptions in December may have been caused by unknown NATO military exercises in the Baltic region or by recent electronic warfare tests in the Kaliningrad region of Russia.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has been using jamming systems to block Ukrainian forces from accessing commercial Starlink satellites.
The Russians are attaching equipment to their tanks to interfere with satellite signals and disrupt unmanned aerial vehicles, jamming Ukrainian GPS-guided bombs and Ukrainian drones, forcing Ukrainian operators to move closer to their targets on the front lines.
According to analysts, although Russian jamming is becoming increasingly effective in destroying Ukraine’s most advanced weapons, Russia’s attempts to cut off Ukraine’s access to Starlink satellites have so far failed.
