Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna recently publicly accused Russia of jamming GPS signals in the country and its surrounding areas, saying that such behavior violates international airspace regulations. Tsahkna said that interference with Estonian airspace has caused disruptions to civil aviation in the region, and he called the interference a "hybrid attack." Tsahkna plans to address the issue at the European Union (EU) and NATO levels to ensure aviation safety and national security.
Tartu Airport is the main airport in Tartu, Estonia's second largest city, and relies entirely on GPS signals for approach and landing operations. Due to the interference, Finnair decided to suspend flights to Tartu until an alternative solution can be implemented. This incident shows the serious impact of GPS interference on aviation operations and highlights the urgent need to protect infrastructure that relies on GPS signals.
This is not the first GPS jamming incident in the Baltic region. Similar incidents have become commonplace in the region since the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict in 2022. Although Russia is the most likely perpetrator, its guilt has not yet been conclusively confirmed. Even so, Russia's jamming has become a common concern for countries in the region.
Although GPS jamming does not directly cause aircraft crashes, it can deprive pilots of an important source of geolocation. Most airports use alternative approaches, but some, like Tartu Airport, rely entirely on GPS signals for operations. Once GPS signals are jammed, pilots must rely on other, less precise methods for navigation, which increases the complexity and risk of flight.
Experts estimate that recent GPS jamming incidents have affected tens of thousands of civilian flights. These jams not only disrupt aviation operations, but also affect all users of GPS signals in the region, including ships on the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Navy has therefore issued a shipping safety warning to warn ships of possible GPS signal jamming. Experts point out that GPS jamming is relatively easy and inexpensive, and large-scale jamming can be implemented using cheap equipment.
Although no country has publicly admitted to planning GPS jamming in the Baltic region, officials in the region are almost unanimous that Russia is responsible. Russia's actions are considered the main source of jamming, both on its home ground and in Kaliningrad, an exclave located between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. Kaliningrad is a strategic location where Russia has deployed a large number of military equipment such as GPS signal jammers, making it an ideal location for electronic jamming.
The GPS jamming problem in the Baltic region not only poses a threat to civil aviation and shipping, but also has a profound impact on the security and stability of the entire region. Estonia and its Baltic neighbors are strengthening cooperation with the EU and NATO to deal with this growing threat. The international community needs to take more active measures to ensure the security and reliability of GPS signals and prevent similar incidents from happening again.
In the future, the Baltic countries may seek to develop and deploy more alternative navigation technologies to reduce their reliance on GPS signals. The development of these technologies is not only a response to current threats, but also an important step in improving overall navigation and positioning capabilities. Countries need to strengthen cooperation to jointly deal with electronic jamming from Russia and other potential threats to ensure the safety of aviation and shipping.
