(PrimeChronicle.org) – Between August 2023 and March 2024, 46,000 flights have reportedly been hit by electronic jamming attacks. Thousands of commercial flights out of the UK have reportedly logged significant jamming attacks.
The attacks occurred over the eastern Mediterranean, the Baltic region as well as the Black Sea. War expert from the RUSI think tank, Dr. Jack Watling, explained that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “long used” electronic jamming weapons to aggravate or harass foreign actors passing near the country.
The affected airlines include British Airways, EasyJet, Wizz Air Flights, and Ryanair flights. Ryanair reported over 2,300 attacks while Wizz Air reported roughly 1,300 attacks. EasyJet and British Airways experienced a combined total of 90 attacks. US intelligence points to Russian jamming technology positioned near Syria. Russia is accused of using jamming technology to attack a flight carrying the UK Secretary of Defense Grant Shapps. While insiders asserted that there was no immediate danger to the Defense Secretary, the attack has been labeled “wildly irresponsible”.
Putin’s irresponsible behavior extends not just to foreign flights, but allegedly also to the treatment of his own people.
The Russian secret weapon, dubbed Tobol, is believed to be the weapon used to carry out the electronic attacks. Tobol is alleged to be installed near in or near the Russian enclave around Kaliningrad. In the first months of 2024 there was a significant increase in jamming attacks against aircraft as well as ships. Russia’s goal in carrying out these attacks is currently unknown.
In addition to the UK, Sweden, Finland and Poland have all been affected by electronic attacks. Aviation insiders have called the attacks “extremely dangerous”. Jamming weapons work by replacing accurate data with electronic noise or static, but can go as far as replacing satnav data with false information. Reports showed that suspected Russian attacks increased from 50 a week across 2024 to over 350 a week in early months of 2024.
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