A Spanish military aircraft carrying Defense Minister Margarita Robles experienced GPS interference while flying over the Baltic Sea near the Russian region of Kaliningrad on 24 September, according to Spanish media outlets 20minutos and El Mundo.

The Airbus A330 of the Spanish Air and Space Forces was en route to Lithuania when its GPS signal was targeted for jamming. The region around Kaliningrad hosts both known electronic warfare installations and suspected mobile jammers, with maritime jamming strong enough to affect flight navigation confirmed in October 2024.

Spanish Defense Ministry sources confirmed the incident to 20minutos, stating that the military aircraft “is prepared to avoid interference” and that such episodes “are habitual” on this route, including on commercial flights.

Robles was traveling to visit the Spanish military contingent at the “Vilkas” base in northern Lithuania, consisting of eight Eurofighter aircraft and 150 military personnel participating in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission. The aircraft also carried journalists and family members of tactical aviation squadron personnel.

Pattern of high-profile targets

The incident follows similar attacks on European officials’ aircraft. On 14 March 2024, The Times reported that Russia may have jammed the satellite signal on an aircraft carrying British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps.

On 1 September 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was forced to land in Bulgaria due to GPS jamming, with Russia suspected as the source.

The von der Leyen incident was more severe because her aircraft lacked adequate protection. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the interference experienced by von der Leyen’s aircraft required the crew to resort to paper maps, as the electronic systems had been “neutralized.”

Escalating Baltic security concerns

The Spanish minister’s visit occurs amid heightened tensions in the Baltic region. Several NATO allies, including Lithuania, have recently suffered airspace violations by Russian drones or aircraft, prompting the NATO Security Council to hold consultations twice in recent weeks.

Estonia invoked Article 4 of the Washington Treaty on 23 September following the 19 September incursion of three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets into Estonian airspace. On 10 September, the Council held consultations after Russian drones violated Polish airspace.

During her Lithuania visit, Robles met with her Lithuanian counterpart Dovilė Šakalienė, who recently called for shooting down Russian military aircraft that violate Lithuanian airspace. The Spanish contingent, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Holgado del Águila, is tasked with intercepting and identifying civilian or military aircraft that fail to comply with international flight regulations near NATO airspace.

Growing electronic warfare threat

Research indicates GPS jamming incidents in the Baltic Sea can last up to seven hours at a time and cause horizontal positioning errors of up to 100 feet, with some events recorded through September 2024. The Estonian city’s airport faced flight cancellations and several re-routings as a consequence of GPS jamming, with Finnair suspending flights there from April through May 2024.

EU governments have warned that increased GPS interference attributed to Russia could provoke a serious aviation catastrophe by leaving commercial aircraft “practically blind” during flight. The recent increase in GPS and AIS spoofing and jamming in the Baltic Sea is part of a broader Russian strategy of hybrid warfare directed against the West.