Image: ru.mil
What’s New: An interesting discussion that shows how NATO leaders can justify not acting against Russian jamming and spoofing in the Baltic.
Why It’s Important: If the interference were determined to be electronic or hybrid warfare, NATO would have to invoke Article Five for a military response.
What Else to Know:
- The Baltic jamming is sufficiently far from the conflict zone in Ukraine that it can’t be “spillover” from there.
- Russia likely claims it is trying to protect Kaliningrad from drone attack.
- Some in the article say that, for it to be warfare, Russia has to intend to harm NATO members / non-combatants.
- We like the comments by others about a “distinction without a difference.” EASA says the interference “...poses significant challenges to aviation safety.” So if an aircraft full of people ends up in a smoking hole in the ground, what does intent matter?
Russian Jamming Is Wreaking Havoc on GPS in Eastern Europe. But Is It Hybrid Warfare?
Amid unprecedented amounts of electronic warfare in Russia’s war on Ukraine, there is no doubt that the Russians are jamming GPS and other satellite-based navigation systems around the Baltic Sea. Earlier this year, the interference forced the closure of a major civilian airport after flights had to be diverted enroute.
“We know that Russia has been jamming GPS signals,” Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna said, explaining why Tartu, the country’s second largest airport, had to close. The jamming has affected not just Estonia, but parts of neighboring Latvia and Lithuania, sites in Finland and Sweden across the Baltic Sea, and as far afield as Poland and Germany, according to publicly reported data from commercial aircraft.
