EC confirms Bulgaria suspects Russia behind jamming of signal to GPS of VDL’s aircraft
A European Commission (EC) spokesperson confirmed on September 1 that Bulgarian authorities suspected that Russia was behind the jamming of the GPS navigation system of an aircraft carrying EC President Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Bulgaria the previous day.
The Financial Times reported that the incident took place on August 31 as the aircraft was on approach to Plovdiv Airport.
After circling for an hour, the pilot decided to land the aircraft using paper maps.
The Bulgarian government information service said on September 1 that during Von der Leyen’s flight to Plovdiv, there was a neutralisation of the satellite signal supplying information to the aircraft’s GPS navigation system.
During the landing approach to Plovdiv Airport, the GPS signal disappeared.
The statement said that to ensure the safety of the flight, the Bulgarian Civil Aviation Authority immediately proposed an alternative approach using ground navigation aids (instrument landing system).
The ground navigation aids that Bulgaria uses are independent of GPS systems and allow for a safe and reliable landing, the statement said.
“We would also like to clarify that no re-routing was necessary,” it said.
Von der Leyen’s flight was carried out with an aircraft chartered by the EC, the statement said.
Von der Leyen’s visit to Bulgaria on August 31 was part of a tour of seven frontline states – the others being Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania and Romania – aimed at underscoring the EU’s support for member states sharing borders with Russia or Belarus.
An EC spokeperson, speaking on Monday at the Commission’s routine midday briefing, said that the EU was well aware that threats and intimidation are a regular component of Russia’s hostile actions.
“We have received information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect that this blatant interference was carried out by Russia,” the EC said.
“This will further reinforce our unshakeable commitment to ramp up our defence capabilities and support for Ukraine,
“This incident underlines the urgency of the President’s current visit to the frontline member states, where she has seen first hand the every day threats from Russia and its proxies. The EU will continue to invest in defence and in Europe’s readiness,” the EC said.
(Photo, of Von der Leyen being greeted on August 31 by Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyakov: Bulgarian government’s Facebook page)
