RAF jet carrying defence secretary has signal jammed near Russian border

An RAF jet with the UK defence secretary on board had its signal jammed as it flew near the Russian border earlier this week.

John Healey was travelling back to the UK on Thursday after visiting British soldiers in Estonia when the incident happened, the Times first reported.

Russia is believed to be behind the attack, which meant pilots had to use a different navigation system as the plane's GPS was disabled during the three-hour flight.

The incident took place a day after it emerged that two Russian warplanes had "repeatedly and dangerously" intercepted an RAF spy plane over the Black Sea last month.

It is not known if Healey was purposely targeted, but the newspaper reported that the flight's path was visible on aircraft tracking websites.

The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.

During his visit to Estonia, Healey spoke to UK service members taking part in a Nato military exercise near the Russian border.

In the separate incident last month, a Russian Su-35 fighter approached a Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft, getting close enough to trigger its emergency systems, disabling its autopilot.

And a Su-27 jet also carried out six passes in front of the RAF plane, getting as close as six metres (19ft) from its nose.

Healey had praised the "outstanding professionalism" of the RAF crew during "unacceptable" Russian flybys, which the MoD said was the most dangerous Russian action since 2022, when a "rogue" pilot fired a missile at a Rivet Joint over the Black Sea.

In 2024, an RAF plane carrying then-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had its GPS signal jammed while flying close to Russian territory.