A Ryanair Flight from the UK was forced to abort landing in Lithuania and divert to Poland due to a mysterious GPS interference issue near NATO’s border with Russia. The flight, which departed from London’s Luton airport, was preparing to land in Vilnius International Airport when the pilot made the sudden decision to divert to Warsaw, Poland.
Lithuania’s air navigation confirmed that the flight experienced a “GPS signal interference” and that the pilot’s quick decision was made to ensure safety. The incident comes after Estonia and Finland previously accused Russia of jamming GPS navigation devices in the region’s airspace, claims that Russia has denied.
This is not an isolated incident; over 800 instances of GPS interference have been reported in Lithuania in the past three months, a significant jump from the 124 reported over the same period last year. Russia’s military is believed to be equipped with a top-secret weapon, known as “Tobol,” which can severely jam plane signals and is capable of causing devastating effects on travel in the region.
It is reported that the devices are kept in military territory, with one located in Kaliningrad, Russia, between Lithuania and Poland. The exact number of devices is unknown, but experts believe there could be up to ten. The use of these devices has been linked to reported incidents of jamming GPS signals, causing planes to swerve and dive to avoid fake obstacles.