Tuesday, 26 Nov 2024

Finland reports GPS disturbances in aircraft flying over Russia’s Kaliningrad

Finland reports GPS disturbances in aircraft flying over Russia’s Kaliningrad


Finland reports GPS disturbances in aircraft flying over Russia’s Kaliningrad
1.9 k views

Aircraft flying near the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and near Finland's eastern border with Russia have noticed interference with their GPS signals, according to Finnish authorities.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin told Reuters she had no information about the source of the disturbances, nor about whether they originated in Russia, while the foreign ministry said it was looking into the events.

"If they would be caused by outside influence, it would surely be said publicly," Marin said.

The Kremlin did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the reported interference.

Some of Finnair's Asian flights and most of its European ones go past Kaliningrad, which is sandwiched between Nato members Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic Sea's eastern coast, the company told Reuters.

"Our pilots have noticed interference in GPS near the Kaliningrad area in the past few days," a spokesperson for Finland's national carrier said in an email.

Some 10 aircraft have also reported unusual disturbances in GPS signals near Finland's eastern border with Russia since last Sunday, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom said on Tuesday.

Traficom said it had asked aviation authorities to alert aircraft pilots to the situation by issuing an official Notice to Airmen (Notam) notification. The disturbances were continuing, it said.

Lithuanian airline Transaviabaltika said it had been forced to cancel 18 flights between Helsinki and Savonlinna in eastern Finland after the lack of GPS made it impossible to land because Savonlinna airport does not have alternative navigation equipment.

"We have made three attempts to fly to Savonlinna. So far, we have not succeeded," Rene Must, a manager from Transaviabaltika told Reuters.

Electromagnetic radiation from the sun and signal jamming are the only two reasons that could explain such long-lasting disturbances that affect several planes, director of HybridCoE Jukka Savolainen, a pan-European organisation that seeks to counter hybrid threats, told Reuters.

"States can have systems to see where the jamming comes from if they happen to be turned on and in that direction," he said.

you may also like

The world's oldest Douglas fir trees have lived over 1,000 years
  • by foxnews
  • descember 09, 2016
The world's oldest Douglas fir trees have lived over 1,000 years

The Douglas fir, the state tree of Oregon, can grow incredibly tall and live impressively long. The oldest Douglas fir trees have lived to be over 1,000 years old.

read more