Russian electronic warfare jammed satellite communications on plane carrying British Defense Secretary - Times

While a Royal Air Force aircraft carrying Defense Minister John Healey was in flight, russian electronic warfare systems jammed its satellite communications.

It was reported by The Times.

The incident occurred as Healey was returning to the UK from Estonia, where he had visited British troops participating in NATO exercises near the russian border.

Due to the interference, smartphones and laptops on board the Dassault Falcon 900LX were unable to connect to the internet. The crew was also forced to use backup inertial navigation systems because the aircraft’s GPS was not working.

According to the publication, the malfunctions also affected some of the instruments on the cockpit control panel. Signal issues persisted throughout the entire three-hour flight after passing near the russian border.

It is currently unknown whether this aircraft was deliberately targeted. The Times notes that this is not the first such incident linked to russia.

In 2024, a Royal Air Force plane carrying then-Defense Minister Grant Shapps also lost its GPS signal while flying near russian territory.

Last September, several media outlets reported that a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lost its electronic navigation systems while approaching a city airport in Bulgaria. After flying over the airport for about an hour, the plane was landed manually.

Later, reports about the use of analog maps were denied, but the incident itself was viewed as russian interference.

As a reminder, the russians can install electronic warfare equipment on certain Shahed-type drones to jam Ukrainian interceptor drones.