UK Defense Minister's Plane Hit by Electronic Attack Near Russia Territory

Defense News , Uk , Russia :-  A plane from the British Royal Air Force, carrying the UK defense minister, had its signals messed with as it flew near Russian territory this week. This was confirmed by a government spokesperson on Thursday.

The problem with the signals happened on Wednesday evening while Grant Shapps was returning on a Royal Air Force plane from Poland. He had been there to watch a NATO exercise, as reported by the Times newspaper.

A spokesperson for the UK government said the plane had some trouble with its GPS when it flew close to Kaliningrad, a Russian area by the Baltic Sea, about 1,200 kilometers (around 750 miles) west of Moscow.

"It didn’t put the plane in danger, and it's not strange for planes to face GPS issues near Kaliningrad, which is Russian land," added the spokesperson.

The UK Defense Minister, Grant Shapps, was traveling with his team and some journalists when this happened. The Times, having reporters on the plane, mentioned that the GPS signal disturbance lasted for about 30 minutes.

During this time, mobile phones couldn't connect to the internet, and the plane had to find alternative ways to figure out its location, according to the newspaper.

Before this incident, Shapps had been observing hundreds of soldiers participating in the Steadfast Defender exercise. This exercise, organized by the US-led military alliance, is the biggest since the Cold War.

The UK has been a strong supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion that started in February 2022. London has promised over 7 billion pounds ($8.9 billion) in military aid to Ukraine and has trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops.