Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets (center) and Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets. (archive image) Source: IMAGO/Björn Trotsky/imago
Russian jammers paralyze GPS tracking. Ukrainian fighter jets are also affected. Now Zelensky’s army is fighting back.
May 17, 2026, 10:26 p.mMay 17, 2026, 10:26 p.m
They have been observing this phenomenon on the Baltic Sea for a long time. Jammers interrupt navigation with the GPS satellite system and give ships an incorrect position. The freighter “Meghna Princess” ran aground in the eastern Baltic Sea after a navigation attack. Nobody was injured. But the danger is real. Not just in shipping.
GPS signals are also increasingly being disrupted in aviation. Ukrainian fighter jet pilots are training to navigate without the GPS positioning system at secret bases in Great Britain. It is “really important” to learn early on “to fly at low altitudes without full GPS support,” Business Insider magazine quoted a Ukrainian pilot as saying.
The British Inspector General Sir Richard Knighton leaves no doubt about the current situation caused by Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. «The threat is growing. “Putin is fighting in Ukraine, learning, developing new technologies,” said Sir Richard Knighton in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” on Friday.
In Ukraine they experience the Russian threat potential every day. Jammers are also increasingly being used, and not just against drones. Military air traffic is also increasingly affected. “Electronic warfare dominates the battlefield in Ukraine, with both sides jamming signals and affecting navigation, communications and weapons control systems,” according to Business Insider.
Sometimes the signal traffic with the GPS satellite in space is superimposed by a jamming transmitter, so that positioning is not possible: experts speak of jamming. Sometimes the jammer simulates false satellite signals, which lead to incorrect positioning: then experts talk about spoofing. Both are dangerous.
That is why the Ukrainian Air Force is undergoing special training in visual flight in Great Britain. British Air Force Chief Harvey Smyth told Business Insider about the special training program: “This is about laying the foundation from which they will move forward.”
Various alternatives from radio to visual flight
Mike Vallillo from the US defense company Honeywell recently explained in the magazine “Flugrevue”: “Means for alternative navigation have become more important due to the war in Ukraine.”
There are several alternatives to the GPS navigation system, such as:
- Earth’s magnetic field: The compass has long been used for orientation. There is no magnetic needle on high-tech devices such as fighter jets; instead, special sensors evaluate the earth’s magnetic field and thus indicate the direction. This data provides pilots with important information, for example when flying visually at low altitudes.
- visual flight: A special camera films the environment on the ground and compares it with previously available satellite data. This gives pilots important information about their exact position and allows them to maneuver their jet.
- radio: To determine the position of a ship, three radio masts, classical geometry and a bit of physics are enough. The position is then determined in the classic way by the distance to radio transmission masts. In the Ormobass system, a corresponding alternative model is currently being developed for ships in the Baltic Sea.
- Inertial systems: If the signal fails for just a short time, data from laser systems on board the jet are evaluated. The exact position can be estimated using other data such as speed. At least for a short time.
- Star trackers: This is what aviation experts call special cameras that record the position of the stars and thus provide orientation in space. The system was originally developed for ballistic missiles.
Training takes place in Great Britain with US F-16 Falcon fighter jets. Ukraine has been using the planes for a long time, and countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands have sold jets from their stocks.
According to the British Air Force, fifty Ukrainian fighter pilots have completed the special program so far. Royal Air Force instructors are teaching Ukrainian pilots to plan flight routes as if the GPS were gone at any time. The pilots train formation takeoffs, low-altitude maneuvers and simulated attacks under conditions of severe electronic interference.
The British teachers are apparently impressed by the development of the Ukrainian soldiers. One instructor told Business Insider: “The difference you can see from the beginning to the end of the course is huge.”
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