NATO's easternmost member states are facing a sharp increase in radio and satellite interference. Baltic authorities claim that interference has significantly increased in recent months, affecting air and sea communications. This was reported by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
Since Russian President Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, widespread signal jamming, particularly of the Global Positioning System (GPS), has been observed in the Baltic Sea region, affecting air and sea communications.
But Baltic authorities claim the situation has significantly worsened in recent months, with the Estonian regulator stating that 85% of flights in the country now experience disruptions. They also reported a rapid increase in deliberate transmission of false coordinates, a practice known as spoofing.
Last month, Lithuania accused Russia of orchestrating a surge in GPS jamming, leading to a 22-fold increase in such incidents compared to the previous year.
As Bloomberg writes, not only the safety of civilian transport is at stake, but also the security of the region, which has become a hotbed of tension in NATO's confrontation with the Kremlin.
According to Jacek Tarociński, an analyst at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, the jammers are effectively posing a question to the military alliance about how to respond.
Russia is constantly testing NATO, exploring both our military and political responses. This is part of an effort to "exploit differences between allies and undermine Alliance unity."
Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia — the Baltic members of the Alliance that border Russia and have been among Kyiv's loudest supporters — have escalated their complaints to international organizations as Moscow has ramped up its electronic warfare capabilities.
Bloomberg News reports that, along with neighboring Finland, they notified the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) of increased radionavigation interference, according to a letter addressed to the communications watchdog on June 23.
These same governments, along with Sweden and Poland, also expressed concerns about Russian electronic warfare capabilities in a letter to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in early July. They provided data on disruptions, based on which the aviation watchdog concluded that Russia was the source of the interference.
Baltic states warn of disaster risk due to Russian GPS jamming29.04.24, 11:53 • [views_32431]
In a letter also seen by Bloomberg News, the International Civil Aviation Organization expressed "serious concern" about flight safety, stating that if Russia does not outline measures it will take to stop the interference within 30 days, the issue will be considered a potential violation of international law. Similarly, the ITU Council urged Russia to immediately cease the interference.
Lithuania's Ministry of Communications told Bloomberg that it was unaware of an official Russian response to the ICAO Council President's letter, and that disruptions were continuing.
According to the constitution, a state that violates ITU rules may be deprived of the right to issue new permits for the use of radio frequencies and their protection. ICAO and ITU are agencies of the United Nations.
The Russian administration "did not deny" its jamming activities at a recent ITU meeting, "but justified its actions by the need to protect national infrastructure," the Lithuanian communications authority said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Baltic states and their allies have taken steps to counter the interference. In July, the bloc announced that its Galileo global navigation satellite had launched a new anti-spoofing capability, responding to the situation in sensitive areas, including the Baltic Sea.
Flying blind
However, according to the letter to the ITU, the interference extends further inland and to ground level, adding that frequency bands used by mobile phones have also been affected.
"Initially, it affected aviation, now the interference also affects maritime, shipping, and terrestrial communication towers," said Jūratė Šovienė, head of the Lithuanian Communications Regulatory Authority, in an interview.
Baltic officials warned civilians not to fly drones near the countries' borders with Russia due to a surge in spoofed GPS coordinates.
"If something falls from a few hundred meters in the wrong place, it can hit someone on the head or on someone's car," Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro said last month. He estimated the total cost to the government of such violations at 500,000 euros ($582,000).
Although authorities in the region claim that commercial flights remain safe, pilots are increasingly forced to switch to alternative navigation methods.
The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) told Bloomberg in an emailed statement that these disruptions "significantly increase" the workload for air traffic control, as pilots must resort to radar due to GPS outages.
PANSA stated that the interference was particularly noticeable in northeastern Poland, near the border with Lithuania. This area includes the Suwałki Gap, a border strip less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) long, located between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
Baltic states accuse Russia of massive signal jamming surge
As Bloomberg writes, in their letter to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Lithuanian officials identified four locations in the exclave where they believe Russia has installed additional electronic warfare equipment.
But the governments of Estonia and Latvia, neither of which borders Kaliningrad, claim that they are also suffering from signal interference from mainland Russia.
In July, Estonian officials said that the Russian military had moved additional devices to a town near the country's border. Riga authorities also believe that Moscow has moved equipment to the Pskov region, which borders Latvia, the public broadcaster reported in August, citing officials.
According to officials from the Baltic states, some electronic warfare assets may also be deployed on naval vessels in the Baltic Sea.