An RAF aircraft carrying UK Defence Secretary John Healey had its GPS signal jammed while flying near the Russian border earlier this week, in what is believed to be a Russian electronic attack.
The incident occurred on Thursday as Healey was returning from a visit to British troops stationed in Estonia. Pilots were forced to switch to alternative navigation systems after the plane's GPS was disabled for the duration of the three-hour flight, according to a report by The Times.
It remains unclear whether the jamming specifically targeted Healey's plane, but the aircraft's flight path was publicly visible on flight-tracking websites.
The Ministry of Defence has been approached for comment.
This development comes just a day after it was revealed that two Russian warplanes had conducted a dangerous interception of an RAF surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea last month. In that incident, a Russian Su-35 fighter approached a Rivet Joint spy plane so closely that it triggered emergency systems and disabled the aircraft's autopilot. A second Su-27 jet performed six passes in front of the RAF plane, coming within six metres of its nose.
Healey had previously praised the "outstanding professionalism" of the RAF crew during those "unacceptable" Russian manoeuvres, which the MoD described as the most dangerous Russian action since a 2022 incident where a "rogue" pilot fired a missile at a Rivet Joint over the Black Sea.
This is not the first time a UK defence secretary has been targeted. In 2024, an RAF plane carrying then-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps also had its GPS signal jammed while flying near Russian territory.