RAF jet carrying UK defense secretary jammed near Russia border
A Royal Air Force (RAF) Dassault Falcon 900LX carrying UK Defense Secretary John Healey had its GPS signals jammed for the duration of a three-hour flight returning from Estonia on May 21, 2026, in what a UK defense source quoted by British media described as “reckless Russian interference.”
The Times first reported the incident, which has not been formally attributed by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Healey had been visiting British personnel deployed to Estonia as part of NATO’s enhanced forward presence on the alliance’s eastern flank.
Three hours without GPS
The aircraft, an Envoy IV CC.1 (registration G-ZABH) operated by Centreline AV Limited on behalf of 32 (The Royal) Squadron at RAF Northolt, transited Baltic airspace on its return leg to the United Kingdom.
According to The Times, GPS reception on board was disabled for the entire return flight, and smartphones and laptops on board could not connect to the internet. Pilots reverted to alternative navigation systems, and the aircraft was assessed safe to continue the flight. Passengers, who included photographers and at least one reporter, were briefed on the situation in flight.
It is not clear whether the Falcon 900LX was specifically targeted. The flight path was reportedly visible on public aircraft tracking websites at the time.
A pattern of Baltic electronic warfare
The Envoy IV CC.1 is not fitted with military-standard electronic protection. When the UK ordered its pair of Falcon 900LX aircraft in 2021, the government opted against the most extensive defensive aids package available, a decision that drew criticism after a March 2024 episode involving then-Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, whose RAF flight returning from Poland was jammed for around 30 minutes near Kaliningrad.
The Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad exclave remain one of four European hotspots identified by EASA for sustained GNSS interference, alongside eastern Finland, the Black Sea, and the eastern Mediterranean.
On August 31, 2025, another Falcon 900LX carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reportedly experienced GPS interference on approach to Plovdiv, Bulgaria. A Spanish Air and Space Force A330 MRTT carrying Defense Minister Margarita Robles experienced GPS disruption near Kaliningrad on September 24, 2025 while flying to Šiauliai Air Base for a Baltic Air Policing visit.
ICAO formally condemned Russia and North Korea over GNSS interference in October 2025.
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A tense week in international airspace
The jamming incident follows the UK MOD’s disclosure of an April 2026 episode in which an RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint operating over the Black Sea was dangerously intercepted by Russian Su-35 and Su-27 fighters, with one Russian aircraft passing within six meters of the British plane’s nose and triggering its onboard emergency systems.
The ministry described that event as the most dangerous Russian action against a UK Rivet Joint since September 2022, when a Su-27 released a missile in the vicinity of an RC-135W over the same body of water.The post RAF jet carrying UK defense secretary jammed near Russia border appeared first on AeroTime.
A Royal Air Force (RAF) Dassault Falcon 900LX carrying UK Defense Secretary John Healey had its GPS signals jammed for…
The post RAF jet carrying UK defense secretary jammed near Russia border appeared first on AeroTime.
