The Norwegian aviation regulator has warned pilots about jamming satellite navigation signals, including GPS, in Finnmark province, bordering Russia’s Murmansk region, The Barents Observer reported.
The warning was made the day before to the NOTAM operational base (changes in the rules for conducting and ensuring flights and aeronautical information) until January 31, the newspaper notes. SAS, Norwegian and Wideroe planes fly through the specified area, but the pilots of which of the airlines noticed navigation problems is still unclear, the resource writes. The Barents Observer emphasizes that the reason for the NOTAM warning is the complete loss of the navigation signal.
In November 2018, Finland accused Russia of jamming the GPS signal during NATO’s Trident Juncture exercise, held from October 25 to November 7. The GPS malfunction was discussed with Russia at the diplomatic level, and the Finnish Foreign Ministry also summoned Russian ambassador Pavel Kuznetsov on this matter. The Norwegian Ministry of Defense also made similar accusations against the Russian military group in the Arctic. True, it admitted that the navigation disruptions did not lead to any serious consequences.
The press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov then said that the Kremlin did not know about Russia’s involvement in failures in GPS systems, and forwarded the question about this to the Russian Ministry of Defense.