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Sweden Accuses Russia of Dangerous GPS Jamming Over Baltic Sea
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Sweden has accused Russia of being behind a sharp rise in GPS disruptions over the Baltic Sea, warning that the interference poses a growing safety risk to commercial aviation, The Moscow Times reported on September 5.
According to the Swedish Transport Agency, incidents of interference with global navigation satellite systems, including GPS, have skyrocketed from 55 in 2023 to 733 so far this year.
The interference includes both jamming—which blocks signals—and spoofing, which feeds aircraft false positioning data. While initially limited to Sweden’s eastern airspace over international waters, the disruptions have now spread across wider swaths of land and sea.
“This is serious and is a security risk for civil aviation, not least given the extent, duration and nature of the interference,” said Andreas Holmgren, unit head at the Swedish Transport Agency.
Sweden and several Baltic neighbors raised the issue with the International Civil Aviation Organization in June.
The ICAO Council, where Russia is a member, expressed “grave concern” and urged Moscow to halt the interference. But Swedish officials say the disruptions have only escalated since then.
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden now plan to escalate the issue at ICAO’s general assembly this fall.
The warning comes just days after GPS jamming was reported on a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as it prepared to land in Bulgaria. The aircraft landed safely, but EU officials directly blamed Russia for the incident.
Earlier, Sweden joined a coalition of European countries supplying advanced weapons and training to Ukraine, but Stockholm had refrained from transferring its flagship JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets during the ongoing conflict, citing operational demands and the need to maintain national defense readiness.
