Russia is said to have jammed the satellite signal on a plane that flew near Kaliningrad territory on Wednesday, reports say.
It’s believed the GPS signal was interfered with for around 30 minutes while the jet, carrying defense secretary Grant Shapps of the UK, flew near the Russian territory, The Times reports.
Cell phones were unable to connect to the internet at the time and the aircraft had to lean on alternative methods to determine its location.
Mr Shapps, traveling with staff and journalists on the Dassault 900LX Falcon jet, was returning from a military training site in Poland back to the UK. He had visited to watch hundreds of troops participate in Steadfast Defender, a NATO exercise.
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A defense source told The Times it wasn’t clear whether the plane was targeted but the craft’s flight path was picked up on tracking websites.
They told the outlet: “While the RAF are well prepared to deal with this, it still puts an unnecessary risk on civilian aircraft and could potentially endanger people’s lives.
“There is no excuse for this and it’s wildly irresponsible on Russia’s part.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson confirmed the plane’s satellite signals were down for that time, but said it was “not unusual”.
They added: “It didn’t threaten the safety of the aircraft and it is not unusual for aircraft to experience GPS jamming near Kaliningrad, which is of course Russian territory.”
Kaliningrad is situated between Poland and Lithuania and is separated from the mainland. It’s Russia’s only ice-free port on the Baltic Sea.
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