Grant Shapps’ plane ‘HACKED by Putin’s forces’ knocking out GPS & comms as Defence Sec jetted back from Nato wardrills

RUSSIA jammed signals on Defence Secretary Grant Shapps’ plane, RAF pilots suspect.

The GPS and other signals were blocked for almost 30 minutes in an act of “electronic warfare”.

UK MOD Crown copyright

Shapps was on his way back from Poland where he visited British troops taking part in Steadfast Defender (pictured)[/caption]

Gary Dawson

Shapps was flying on a Dassault Falcon 900 jet when the signals were jammed near Poland[/caption]

Reuters

Ukrainian troops shoot at Russians on the frontline in Kherson, March 12[/caption]

It came as Grant Shapps flew past Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave neighbouring Poland.

The Sun’s Defence Editor Jerome Starkey was onboard the RAF Dassault Falcon 900 at the time.

Shapps – a qualified pilot – was assured the electronic warfare attack did not affect the aircraft’s safety.

He was flying back from Poland’s Szymany airport after visiting British troops taking part in Steadfast Defender, the largest Nato war games since the end of the Cold War.

A defence source slammed the jamming as “wildly irresponsible”.

They: “While the RAF are well prepared to deal with this, it still puts an unnecessary risk on civilian aircraft and could potentially endanger people’s lives.

“There is no excuse for this and it’s widely irresponsible on Russia’s part.”

The aircraft emblazoned with Union Jack livery flew within 60 miles of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on its journey to RAF Northolt.

The jamming also affected the aircraft’s satellite internet communications.

Officials said they did not suspect Shapps’ plane had been singled out.

They said Russia routinely interferes with satellite communications and signals which can affect all aircraft and GPS devices.

It follows claims the Russians were interfering with planes’ GPS at the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus in 2021.

Pilots of A400 transport planes regularly reported GPS jamming as they landed at the base.

In all cases RAF pilots were able to revert to alternative fail safe systems.

The attack came after Shapps spoke in Poland on Wednesday and warned that Britain should be spending billions more on defence to save itself from World War Three.

The defence chief said he was “clearly in favour” of raising defence spending to three per cent of GDP.

Current UK spending sits at 2.27 per cent, with the Government committed to 2.5 when conditions allow.

Mr Shapps and Jeremy Hunt both pledged to raise defence spending to three per cent in the 2022 Tory leadership race.

Amid continuing threats from Russia and China, Mr Shapps said: “It is a more dangerous world now. 

“Defence is the best way to protect ourselves.

“You have to show your adversaries, so I am clearly in favour.”

He said the cost of beating Russia was “cheap at half the price”.

Shapps also warned that the world is now more dangerous, making spending even more urgent.

He said: “I have spoken in the past about the need for 3 per cent, before I was Defence Secretary.

“I do believe it is a more dangerous world.

“We have to be much more prepared. Defence is the best way to protect ourselves against a military conflict, you have to show your adversaries, so I am clearly in favour.”

It’s not the first time deranged tyrant Vladimir Putin has used electronic warfare to spark chaos across Europe.

In early February Russia jammed GPS tech in a similar fashion on flights and ships spanning the eastern flank of Nato, causing severe disruption.

Sun man Jerome Starkey in a British-made Challenger 2 tank – used to blast Russians in Ukraine

Reuters

Putin has jammed planes and ships across Europe before with electronic warfare[/caption]

While in Poland Shapps warned about the threat posed by Russia

Some areas across Europe already hit by Russia’s electronic warfare