A United States Reaper drone was forced to make an emergency landing as its GPS signal was jammed while traveling in Polish airspace.
The drone landed near the town of Mirosławiec in northwestern Poland on Tuesday, March 19, Knewz.com has learned.
Poland’s General Command of the Armed Forces announced the emergency landing in a post on X. The agency shared a photo of the MQ-9 Reaper without saying why it made an emergency landing.
According to Newsweek, the Pentagon confirmed the emergency landing of the piloted aircraft. The defense agency added that the aircraft was “conducting routine training operations when it lost connection with the command station, affecting their ability to operate the aircraft.”
“Preparations for recovery are currently underway and investigation of the incident is in progress,” the U.S. Defense Department added in a statement to Newsweek. “We are thankful to our Polish partners for their assistance.”
The emergency landing it another example of the jamming of Global Positioning System (GPS) and broader Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals in eastern Europe and the Baltic region.
When an aircraft’s GPS or GNSS is jammed, it can become confused as to where it’s at.
Many have pointed to the Russians as possible suspects for the alleged jamming. The area affected is between Russia and NATO members Poland and Lithuania around Kaliningrad.
The area serves as a major base for Russia’s naval fleets.
Estonia Gen. Martin Herem, who heads up Estonia’s Defense Forces, told Bloomberg News in late January that Russia’s ability to use electronic warfare is “quite strong.”
Britain Jammed Up
This was the second time in a week that Russia has been blamed for jamming up GPS on a NATO aircraft.
As Knewz.com reported on March 15, Russia interfered with the satellite signal on an aircraft used by Britain Defense Minister Grant Shapps to travel from Poland back home on Wednesday, March 13.
The aircraft’s GPS signal was jammed for approximately 30 minutes as the plane flew near Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.
Citing anonymous government sources and journalists, Reuters reports that mobile phones lost their internet connection and the aircraft had to use alternative ways to determine its location.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson confirmed Russia’s actions, saying it was “not unusual.”
“While travelling back from Poland yesterday, the plane carrying the Defense Secretary and his delegation temporarily experienced GPS jamming when they flew close to Kaliningrad,” the spokesperson said.
“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.”
A History of Jamming
The jamming has, in fact, been going on for some time.
As Knewz.com reported on March 7, Russia has been doing so against NATO aircraft for two years.
Knewz.com reported in early February that the Russians began tests on a satellite dish system called “Tobol” to jam satellite positioning signals in April 2023.
Now it appears interruptions have lasted even longer, especially around sensitive locations.
Several NATO countries point the finger at the Kremlin. A Polish defense official explained how GPS jamming sends a psychological message.
“Building an atmosphere of threat and a sense of helplessness in society is undoubtedly one of the goals that Russia is pursuing,” the official said.
A website keeps track of GPS interference on a daily basis. The map for Wednesday, March 6 showed a “high level” of interference between St. Petersburg, Russia and the Estonian border.
The GPS Jam site indicated at least 10% interference also occurred in parts of southeast Finland.
But curiously, Ukraine and the area around it showed hardly any interference at all. Several eastern European officials say the jamming increased after Russia’s military attacked Ukraine in 2022.
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Author: David Wetzel
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