Russia blocks signals from jet carrying UK Defence Secretary

A Royal Air Force aircraft carrying UK Defence Secretary John Healey had its signals jammed and its GPS disabled while flying near the Russian border last week, the defence ministry confirmed on Monday.

The Times first reported that the RAF jet had its signal knocked out as Healey returned to the UK on Thursday after visiting British troops in Estonia.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) told AFP that the report was correct, adding: “This is reckless Russian interference, but the RAF is well prepared to deal with this activity.”

It did not identify who was responsible for the incident or whether Healey’s plane was deliberately targeted.

The jamming disabled the aircraft’s GPS for the three‑hour journey, forcing the pilots to rely on alternative navigation systems, the newspaper said.

The Times, whose reporter was accompanying Healey, added that electronic devices could not connect to the internet and that parts of the dashboard malfunctioned.

The incident follows the MoD’s statement last week that two Russian jets “repeatedly and dangerously” intercepted a British surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea in April.

Healey condemned that event as “dangerous and unacceptable” behaviour by Russian pilots in international airspace, saying it would not “deter the UK’s commitment to defend NATO, our allies and our interests from Russian aggression.”

Officials said the Black Sea encounter was the most serious involving a UK Rivet Joint since 2022, when a Russian aircraft fired a missile near a British plane over the same region.

Relations between Russia and the UK remain severely strained, with Britain a leading supporter of Ukraine since Moscow’s 2022 invasion.

In 2024, an RAF plane carrying then‑defence secretary Grant Shapps had its signal temporarily jammed near Russian territory on its return from Poland.

Vanguard News

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