A Royal Air Force aircraft carrying the Defence Secretary John Healey was reportedly targeted in a suspected Russian electronic attack while returning to Britain from a visit to troops stationed near the Russian border.
The incident is said to have occurred shortly after the Defence Secretary departed southeast Estonia on Thursday following meetings with British soldiers deployed close to hostile territory.
According to The Times, satellite navigation aboard the RAF’s Dassault Falcon 900LX was completely disabled, leaving the aircraft without GPS capability during the entire three-hour flight back to the UK.
Moscow is suspected of the jamming operation using military assets located just over the border, in an area already known for ongoing electronic interference associated with Russian activity.
The disruption reportedly caused cockpit instruments to partially malfunction, while passengers on board found laptops and mobile phones unable to connect to the internet throughout the journey.
RAF pilots were forced to switch to backup navigation procedures, relying on systems that calculate position through aircraft movement rather than satellite signals.
Although officials stressed the aircraft remained safe to fly, the GPS systems could not be restored mid-air because doing so would have required a full restart of the jet’s systems.
One pilot reportedly described the incident as highly unusual, saying he had not experienced such conditions “in a long time”.
A defence source condemned the alleged interference as “reckless” behaviour by Russia that could potentially endanger civilian aviation, while insisting RAF crews were fully trained to handle such scenarios.
Mr Healey had been visiting troops from the British Army’s 4th Light Brigade — known as the Black Rats — who are taking part in Exercise Spring Storm near NATO’s eastern frontier.
The force is positioned roughly 25 miles from Russian units, including elements of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division, the elite formation accused of involvement in atrocities during the occupation of Bucha.
British soldiers in the region reportedly face constant surveillance from suspected hostile operatives and Russian Orlan reconnaissance drones operating near the border.
The Black Rats have increasingly adapted tactics pioneered by Ukrainian forces, becoming the first British unit authorised to deploy fixed-wing kamikaze drones designed to resist electronic jamming and operate without GPS guidance.
However, Mr Healey was reportedly warned that British forces remain critically short of drone equipment needed to defend the frontier in the event of a direct confrontation with Russia.
Speaking to The Times, the Defence Secretary admitted troops possessed fewer than a fifth of the first-person-view drones required for sustained combat operations and said existing supplies could be exhausted within a week of fighting.
“We certainly need to get them more, and we’re working on that,” he said, arguing Britain needed constantly operating production lines capable of rapidly adapting technology in the same way as Ukraine.
Western defence officials increasingly fear Vladimir Putin could seek to test NATO’s resolve elsewhere in Europe if a ceasefire eventually freezes the war in Ukraine.
Mr Healey warned the Kremlin was attempting to exploit instability across the world — from tensions in the Middle East to Chinese pressure on Taiwan and uncertainty over American commitment to Europe under Donald Trump — in an effort to divide the alliance.
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