Russia knocked out GPS to RAF aircraft carrying Defence Secretary, Downing St confirms

Russia jammed the GPS signal on an RAF aircraft that was carrying Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Downing Street has confirmed.

During his return flight from Poland, Mr Shapps' RAF Dassault 900LX Falcon jet Envoy suffered electronic interference caused by Moscow.

At no time was the Defence Secretary's life threatened, and it is unknown if he was the deliberate target of the attack.

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As reported by The Independent, a defence source said: "While the RAF are well prepared to deal with this, it still puts an unnecessary risk on civilian aircraft and could potentially endanger people's lives.

"There is no excuse for this and it's wildly irresponsible on Russia's part."

According to Sky News, alternative methods had to be employed by the aircraft to determine its exact location while its signal was being jammed.

The incident is believed to have happened while Mr Shapps was flying near the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, which sits between Poland and Lithuania.