BRUSSELS — The navigation system of a aircraft carrying Ursula von der Leyen was disrupted because of suspected Russian interference, the European Fee stated.
A spokesperson stated the “GPS jamming” occurred whereas the Fee president was about to reach in southern Bulgaria on Sunday, however she nonetheless landed safely.
They added: “We have now acquired info from the Bulgarian authorities that they believe that this was because of blatant interference by Russia.”
The Monetary Occasions, citing unnamed officers, reported that von der Leyen’s aircraft needed to land at Plovdiv Airport with the pilots utilizing paper maps.
The European Fee stated “threats and intimidation are an everyday element of Russia’s hostile actions” and that the incident would reinforce its dedication to “ramp up our defence capabilities and assist for Ukraine”.
The Bulgarian authorities confirmed that, through the flight, “the satellite tv for pc sign transmitting info to the aircraft’s GPS navigation system was neutralised”.
The assertion continued: “To make sure the flight’s security, air management providers instantly supplied an alternate touchdown technique utilizing terrestrial navigation instruments.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov advised the FT that its info was “incorrect”.
Bulgaria’s Air Site visitors Providers Authority advised the paper that there had been a “notable enhance” in navigation jamming since January 2022.
Consultants have have beforehand warned that Russia was inflicting disruption to satellite tv for pc navigation programs – affecting 1000’s of civilian flights.
Cyrille Rosay, a senior cybersecurity skilled on the European Union Aviation Security Company (EASA), advised the BBC that such circumstances had worsened since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has recurrently denied scrambling the satellite-based programs, that are used to find out a aircraft’s location.
Von der Leyen was visiting Bulgaria as a part of a tour of jap EU states to debate defence readiness.
A Fee spokesperson stated she had “seen first hand the daily threats from Russia and its proxies” through the tour. – BBC
