GPS jamming, spoofing plague commercial aircraft across Europe, report says

Over the last couple of days, around 1,614 flights encountered consistent interference with national GPS signals.

The report is based on open-source analysis from an X account that keeps track of GPS interference. A map provided by this source indicated widespread disruptions over Poland and southern Sweden, although a subsequent update suggested that the interference became primarily concentrated in northern Poland.

Interfering with both GPS and broader Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals could potentially lead to confusion for both manned and unmanned aircraft, as their navigation systems might perceive inaccurate locations.

The increase in disruptions was attributed to jamming activities originating from Russia’s Kaliningrad region, positioned between Poland and Lithuania and serving as a strategic location for one of Russia’s major naval fleets.

According to an unnamed Lithuanian defence official interviewed by Newsweek, Russia is implicated in the matter. The official stated, “The Russian armed forces possess a diverse range of military equipment specifically designed for interfering with GNSS, encompassing jamming and spoofing, with varying distances, durations, and intensities.”