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What’s new: There has been A LOT of reporting about the EU President’s airplane having its GPS jammed on approach to landing in Bulgaria. Some of it seems to be contradictory. The below article, though, reports comments by a former Bulgarian Defense Minister that the jamming could not have come from outside the country.
Why it’s important:
- It might be true that the jamming came from within Bulgaria. We reported on jamming detected near Sofia during a politically sensitive time in the country early this year. There were suggestions and some evidence that Russian agents or sympathizers were responsible.
- It might be false and the former minister is wrong. The impacts of GPS signal interference can be varied and subtle. For example, it is entirely possible the ADS-B output was not impacted while the aircraft’s nav system was. The minister may be misinformed about this complex technical issue, or he might have reasons to try to shield Russia from blame.
What else to know:
- Indications are that this incident is really only unique in the high political status of the person on board and the amount of subsequent media coverage.
- It is an interesting case study, though, and we hope there is a detailed investigation and report. We think the report might be very interesting reading.
Understanding How GPS Jamming Works Amid Rise In Reported Cases
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was flying into Bulgaria when her plane’s GPS system was jammed in a suspected Russian operation, forcing pilots to rely on backup navigation and old-school paper maps to land safely.
This was only the latest episode in a growing and worrying tactic in modern conflict zones: GPS jamming.
