Ursula von der Leyen's chartered plane lost GPS signals while approaching Plovdiv, forcing reliance on manual navigation procedures. Bulgarian authorities attribute the GPS jamming to Russia, and the European Commission accepts that assessment. Spokespeople noted similar incidents are frequent on Europe's eastern flank and referenced procedures for switching from autopilot to manual flight. GPS jamming and spoofing overpower or falsify weak satellite signals. The EU has sanctioned companies suspected of supplying jamming capabilities to Moscow. Commissioner Andrius Kubilius called for more low-Earth-orbit satellites and better interference detection. Member states are developing an action plan, with timing still unclear.
GPS jamming involves transmission of radio waves in the same frequencies used by GPS satellites. As those sats are around 20,000kms above Earth, the signals they send are quite weak. A terrestrial transmitter can overwhelm GPS info. It's also possible to spoof info from GPS satellites in an effort to lead those who rely on satnav astray. Neither Podestà nor Itkonen described the exact nature of this jamming incident, or how the presidential plane addressed it.
She also noted that the EU's sanctions on Russia have singled out companies thought to provide Moscow with GPS jamming capabilities. The European Union's Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius used his X account to lament the incident. "Jamming and spoofing harms our air, maritime & transport economies," he wrote, adding that the bloc "...will increase satellites in low Earth orbit for robustness and we will enhance interference detection."
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