How Russia has been 'targeting thousands of flights with electronic attacks' for years

Civilian aircraft have been targeted regularly, an expert has said (Picture: Getty)

In recent months, more and more civilian aircraft have been hit with electronic jamming, wiping out their GPS systems and other vital navigation tools.

But the phenomenon, while terrifying, is not new.

Russia is suspected to have been targeting aircraft systems for years, but only recently caught attention for affecting RyanAir, Wizz-Air, British Airlines, Easyjet, TUI and Jet2.

Between August 2023 and March 2024 alone, 46,000 flights in areas such as the Baltic, Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean logged interference issues.

RyanAir had 2,300 flights affected, Wizz-Air recorded 1,300 flights jammed and British Airlines, Easyjet, TUI and Jet2 were also affected.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has insisted that flying is still safe as there are ‘several protocols’ in place to protect their systems onboard.

Yet the warnings about suspected Russian interference into everyday flights went seemingly unheeded for years.

GPS jamming has become normal for pilots flying above the highlighted areas (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

How normal is electronic interference on aeroplanes?

A recent YouTube video documenting a long-haul flight from Copenhagen to Bangkok on Scandinavian Airlines revealed just how normal the interference has become for pilots.

Flightradar 24’s video showed the moment the routine flight was jammed over the Black Sea, as the dashboard of the plane lit up.

‘This one is now offline, and the other one is struggling,’ the pilot explained. ‘This is just the first one. There’s going to be more now.

‘The navigation is still super precise. It’s not a problem. It’s only a problem if you’re going to land somewhere.’

Vital electronic systems have been targeted on flights (Picture: Getty)

It’s not just GPS systems being jammed – position tools, navigation and timing (PNT) services have all been targeted.

Later in the video, the clock on the plane was affected, forcing the pilots to ask air traffic control what time it is.

The radar altimeter was also forced to be switched off during the flight because it signaled the plane was flying into the ground – it was not.

Luckily airplanes have other systems to fall back on to keep passengers safe – but the phenomenon is still worrying.

What does Russia gain from disrupting aircraft?

Targeting civilian aircraft helps sow seeds of chaos, Mr Giles said (Picture: PA)

Chatham House Russian expert Keir Giles, who is familiar with planes, told Metro.co.uk that disrupting electronic systems is one way Russia can practise for war with Nato.

He added: ‘If Russia found itself able to deny GPS services not just for aircraft but also for ground transport, this would immediately sow chaos. What we have seen over the last few months is Russia practicing immobilizing Europe.

‘But those who are most directly affected are the countries closest to the jamming or the aircraft flying overhead. As a result, most of Europe has barely noticed.

‘Normalisation is bad. This is just a symptom of how much Russia does damage to our countries, ordinary people and businesses – and costs us. But nobody knows what’s happening – or pretends they don’t.’

Cyber attack threats have also been on the rise from foreign countries.

In early 2023, government minister Oliver Dowden revealed the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued an ‘official threat notice’ to those who operate critical national infrastructure.

The NCSC said there was an ’emerging risk posed by state-aligned adversaries’ as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, and organisations needed to ‘act now’ to protect themselves against attacks.

Mr Dowden said these Russian-aligned groups now have a motive to ‘disrupt or destroy’ UK infrastructure.

How long has Russia been disrupting aircraft?

Russia has boasted that their technological abilities reach thousands of kilometers (Picture: AP)

Warnings of Russian interference with plane navigation systems are not unheard of – and the Kremlin has continued to deny any wrongdoing.

In 2019, the Norwegian defence ministry brought up the issue in a bilateral meeting with Russian officials.

The electronic attacks have also been allegedly deployed in the Donbas, eastern Ukraine, dating back to 2015.

In 2020, the Swedish Defence Research Agency wrote of how Russian navigational systems could attack vulnerable navigational systems. The warnings were seemingly ignored.

Mr Giles added: ‘There was speculation that this was just spillover effects from Russia exercising its powerful electronic warfare capabilities in the region, but in recent times, it has become more systematic and more sustained.

‘Now the interruption of navigational Services is treated as routine by airline pilots. Russia’s electronic warfare systems claim to have reaches of thousands of kilometers – and they have placed them at Russia’s Western extremities.

‘Not just in Kaliningrad, but also in the far north. What we are seeing may be only a small part of Russia’s capabilities.’

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