The GPS system of the military plane in which Radu Miruță was was jammed in Lithuania: “I checked and it was very strong jamming, not jamming”

The interim Minister of Defense, Radu Miruţă, declared, on Monday evening, that the plane with which he recently traveled to Lithuania had a jammed GPS signal, but, being a military aircraft, it had anti-jamming systems, which were activated, notes News.ro.

“The signal was jammed, but not necessarily for our plane, but for the area. The plane, being military, has military anti-jamming devices, but, yes, I checked and it was very strong jamming, not jamming”, said Radu Miruță to TVR Info.

He stated that the pilots activated the military navigation system and took protective measures.

“We looked at where the plane could be positioned, according to the jammed GPS information. There was a whole discussion with the pilots, there, in the plane, as we approached Lithuania”, explained Radu Miruţă.

The Minister of Defense added that probably most of the aircraft passing through that area face the same problem:

“I don't know how good the news would sound, I'm telling you that the GPS signal was jammed in the area where the plane I was in also passed, as it probably happened to other planes that passed there. But, yes, the plane I flew in was affected by something like that, but we had backup technical measures”, pointed out Radu Miruță.

The Royal Air Force plane carrying British Defense Secretary John Healey this week had its GPS signal jammed during a flight near the Russian border while returning from Estonia, according to The Times.

The interim Minister of Defense, Radu Miruţă, together with the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Gheorghiţă Vlad, were on a working visit to the Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania on Friday, May 22.

Last year, an attack suspected to have been launched by Russia blocked GPS navigation services at a Bulgarian airport and forced a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to land late. The pilot of the plane made the decision to land manually, using analog maps.