GPS interference in the Baltic Sea has risen sharply over the past year, according to Sweden’s Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen), which reports near-daily disruptions affecting civil aviation and an expanding impact area over water and parts of Sweden’s land territory.
Transportstyrelsen reports 733 incidents through August
Sweden’s regulator says reported GNSS disruptions—such as GPS jamming—have accelerated since late 2023 and intensified in 2025. By the end of August 2025, authorities had logged 733 incidents, up from 495 in all of 2024 and 55 in 2023.
Officials describe the situation as a safety risk for civil aviation due to the scale, duration and character of the interference.
GPS interference in the Baltic Sea now occurs almost daily
What began in the eastern Swedish flight information region over international waters has spread westward and inland, with incidents now reported “almost daily.” The phenomenon undermines confidence in satellite-based navigation and timing used by aircraft, ships and critical infrastructure.
Jamming traced to Russia, ICAO notified
Sweden, together with Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, has filed a submission to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) outlining recent spoofing and jamming events in Baltic airspace. Authorities say the source of interference has been traced to Russian territory.
The ICAO Council has expressed grave concern and called on Russia to meet its international obligations and cease the interference; the matter is being prepared for further debate at ICAO’s General Assembly in the autumn.
Maritime warnings and cross-border impact
Sweden’s Maritime Administration (Sjöfartsverket) and neighboring authorities have issued navigation warnings as disruptions extend across the Gulf of Finland and wider Baltic routes. Mariners and pilots report unreliable or lost positioning data, with some flights rerouted and maritime operators advised to keep non-GNSS methods at hand.
Aviation safety: redundancy and procedures limit risk
While the interference poses operational and safety challenges, aviation authorities stress that pilots have alternative navigation options, including inertial and ground‑based aids, and established procedures to manage GNSS outages. Operators are being briefed to monitor notices to airmen and maintain proficiency with non‑satellite navigation.
What to watch next for the Nordics and EU
With GPS interference now affecting both aviation and critical infrastructure, Nordic and Baltic regulators are escalating diplomatic and technical responses. Key next steps include ICAO deliberations, potential EU-level counter‑jamming and resilience measures, and continued monitoring as the Baltic Sea remains a focal point of hybrid pressures linked to the war in Ukraine.
