On Wednesday morning, Spain’s defense ministry announced that a Spanish military aircraft carrying the country’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles encountered Global Positioning System (GPS) signal interference while en route to Lithuania along the coast of the Baltic Sea near the Russian “enclave” of Kaliningrad.
Apart from Robles, the aircraft also carried some relatives of Spanish pilots. These pilots were participating in NATO air patrol missions in the Baltic Sea region, which is located on the border of Russia and its ally Belarus.
However, the Spanish defense ministry did not provide further details on the incident.
According to the Lithuanian defense ministry, the Spanish detachment consists of 8 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, with the mission codenamed “Vilkas” (meaning “wolf” in Lithuanian), stationed at the airbase in Šiauliai, northern Lithuania since July 31.
Spain’s defense ministry stated on Wednesday that this squadron had been scrambled 8 times last week to intercept Russian aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea.
Spain mentioned that they would enhance their military presence in the region in response to the incident of Poland shooting down a Russian drone violating its airspace.
A defense official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Reuters that they believed the aircraft carrying Robles was not the target and that interference along this route was common.
The official added that the aircraft was equipped with encryption systems, meaning attempts to interfere with the signal would not affect the flight.
After Robles arrived at the Šiauliai airbase, she held bilateral talks with Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė.
She told reporters, “We believe that defending the right of all of us to travel and fly freely throughout European territories is crucial, and we should not experience what we faced this morning.”
During a joint press conference with the Lithuanian defense minister, she emphasized, “The threats are real. We have experienced this interference.”
Previously, on August 31, the GPS system of a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also interfered with while en route to Bulgaria.
An EU spokesperson mentioned that Bulgarian authorities suspected Russian interference, although Russia denied any interference with communication and satellite networks.
(Reference: Reuters)