Disturbances in GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation signals have been observed in parts of Finland, the newest NATO member, and Russian electronic warfare systems are behind it.
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The disruptions to the signals used by pilots as well as motorists follow previous GPS disruptions, sparking reports of Russian involvement, although there is no evidence that Moscow was behind the latest incidents.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) announced that GPS signal disturbances were detected in eastern and southeastern Finland on Sunday, according to Finnish news agency YLE News.
The disruptions were detected by the GPSjam website, with administrator John Wiseman describing them on X, formerly Twitter, as: "Unprecedented in terms of the [number] of aircraft affected and the size of the area affected. The Baltic has certainly been exciting lately."
In a follow-up message Wiseman said: "It has cooled off in the last 24 hours, but there is still some significant interference going on, which is not usually seen in this area of Finland."
Finland's civil aviation chief Jari Pöntinen said the GPS signal disruptions did not affect flight safety because the aircraft are equipped with other navigation systems.
He would not comment on whether Russia was involved, although he said such disruptions usually occur near conflict areas.
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"There have been disturbances in the Baltic Sea near Kaliningrad, in the Black Sea region and in the Middle East, such as near Israel," Pöntinen said.
NATO's newest member faced GPS disruptions on New Year's Eve.
Immediately after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, French air security official Benoît Roturier, head of satellite navigation at the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile, said Moscow was behind GPS jamming incidents that affected aircraft over Finland.
He told Bloomberg in April 2022 that at the time the goal was not to interfere with civil aviation, but was likely a side effect of military equipment that protects troops from GPS-guided missiles.
Tensions between Helsinki and Moscow have risen since Finland joined NATO in April 2023, with Helsinki accusing Russia of sparking a migrant crisis by sending refugees to its border - claims the Kremlin denies.
The Russian war machine has sophisticated electronic warfare systems
Russia is widely known to have one of the most technologically capable armies on the planet.
The Russians have advanced intelligence, information warfare, cyber warfare and electronic warfare capabilities.
Moscow has used these technologies in recent years in battles in Syria and in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, and is using them in its current invasion of Ukraine.
The terms "espionage," "intelligence," "cyberspace," and "electronic" suggest distinct but overlapping fields. A professor of cybersecurity practice, Justin Pelletier, explains what they are and how Russia is using them in Ukraine.
The role of cyber espionage involves operations to find insight into enemy activity. The role of counterintelligence is to blind the enemy or distort their information. Automation in intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance - essential functions of intelligence in war - has become a common practice for modern armies.
Russia has reportedly moved faster in integrating AI into intelligence systems than the US expected. It is impossible to know what information Russia has collected, but its access to OSINT, spy satellites, agencies in Ukraine, powerful computers, and experienced analysts makes it likely that Russia has extensive information on the military and political situation in Ukraine
