The French military claimed yesterday that one of its aircraft, an Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea, was targeted by the radar of a Russian S-400 air defense system, this week. “This aggressive Russian action is unacceptable,” Armed Forces Minister Sébastian Lecornu said, reported Defense News. “Our armed forces will continue to act to defend freedom of navigation in international air and maritime spaces.”
The Russians are also being accused of electromagnetic interference, including jamming of GPS, in aircraft navigation systems in the Baltic region. Electromagnetic interference of aircraft is widespread and goes “far beyond” European borders, affecting all types of air traffic, and “is something that is quite serious,” Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Christopher Cavoli claimed in a press conference in Brussels on Jan. 16, responding to a question about jamming and targeting of the French aircraft. He declined to comment, however, on the specific incident.
