RAF jet carrying UK defence secretary loses GPS near Russian border

An RAF jet carrying UK Defence Secretary John Healey lost its GPS signal while returning from Estonia on Thursday. The aircraft flew without satellite navigation for the full three-hour trip after departing southeast Estonia. Pilots relied on inertial navigation that tracks movement rather than satellite signals.

Incident details The jamming began shortly after takeoff from a region that routinely experiences electronic interference from Russian military assets positioned across the border. Passengers on the Dassault Falcon 900LX also lost internet access on laptops and phones.

Cockpit instruments partially malfunctioned during the flight. Restoring satellite connectivity would have required a full system shutdown that could not be performed mid-flight. One pilot described the situation as unusual and said he had not encountered such conditions in a long time.

A defence source called the interference reckless and noted it could affect civilian aircraft.

Visit context Healey had been receiving briefings at a covert location with soldiers from the 4th Light Brigade, known as the Black Rats. The unit is taking part in Exercise Spring Storm near the Russian border. British forces in the area face daily surveillance from suspected hostile operatives and Orlan drones.

The Black Rats are the first British unit authorised to deploy new fixed-wing kamikaze drones resistant to electronic jamming. Healey told The Times that British forces possess fewer than a fifth of the first-person-view drones required for border defence and that stockpiles would be exhausted within about a week of combat.