RUSSIA jammed signals on Defense Secretary Grant Shapps’ plane, RAF pilots suspect.
GPS and other signals were jammed for nearly 30 minutes in an act of “electronic warfare.”
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Shapps was returning from Poland where he visited British troops taking part in the Steadfast Defender (pictured) Credit: UK MOD Crown copyright
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Shapps was flying a Dassault Falcon 900 jet when signals were jammed near PolandCredit: Gary Dawson
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Ukrainian troops fired at Russians on the Kherson front, March 12 Credit: Reuters
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Sun Man Jerome Starkey in an RAF plane with Grant Shapps
It came as Grant Shapps was flying past Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave next door to Poland.
The Sun’s defense editor Jerome Starkey was in the RAF’s Dassault Falcon 900 at the time.
Shapps – a qualified pilot – was confident that the electronic warfare attack did not affect the safety of the aircraft.
He was returning from Poland’s Szymany airport after visiting British soldiers taking part in Steadfast Defender, NATO’s biggest war games since the end of the Cold War.
A defense source criticized the jamming as “wildly irresponsible”.
They said: “While the RAF is well prepared to deal with this, it still poses an unnecessary risk to civilian aircraft and potentially endangers human life.
“There is no excuse for this and it is extremely irresponsible on the Russian side.”
This is not the first time deranged tyrant Vladimir Putin has used electronic warfare to wreak havoc across Europe.
In early February, Russia similarly jammed GPS technology on flights and ships along NATO’s eastern flank, causing serious disruption.
The weapon, located in Kaliningrad, is used against commercial aircraft and naval ships.
Recently, there have been reports of planes suddenly leaving their tracking sites – possibly due to their GPS being interrupted.
Experts have warned that this could cause major damage to the maritime industry as they could collide because they could not be seen on navigation systems.
The plane, decked out in Union Jack livery, flew within 60 miles of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on its way to RAF Northolt.
The jamming also affected the aircraft’s satellite internet communications.
Officials said they have no doubt Shapps’ plane was singled out.
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They said Russia routinely jams satellite communications and signals, which can affect all aircraft and GPS devices.
It follows the claim that the Russians interfered with the GPS of the plane at the RAF base Akrotiri in Cyprus in 2021.
Pilots of A400 transport aircraft regularly reported GPS jamming while landing at the base.
In all cases the RAF pilots were able to revert to fail-safe alternative systems.
The attack came after Shapps spoke in Poland on Wednesday and warned that Britain should spend billions on defense to save itself from World War Three.
The defense chief said he was “clearly in favor” of raising defense spending to three percent of GDP.
Current spending in the UK is 2.27 per cent and the government has committed to 2.5 per cent when conditions allow.
Mr Shapps and Jeremy Hunt have pledged to increase defense spending to three per cent in the 2022 Tory leadership race.
Amid ongoing threats from Russia and China, Mr Shapps said: “The world is more dangerous now.
“Defense is the best way to protect ourselves.
“You have to show your opponents, so I’m clearly in favor.”
He said the price of victory over Russia was “cheap at half price”.
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Sun Man Jerome Starkey in a British-made Challenger 2 tank – used to mine Russians in Ukraine
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Putin has previously jammed planes and ships across Europe with electronic warfareCredit: Reuters
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While in Poland, Shapps warned of the threat posed by Russia
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Some areas across Europe are already affected by Russian electronic warfare
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