GPS disturbances are observed around Kaliningrad. Russia is suspected of testing a new type of wave jamming system, called Tobol. Poland is particularly affected by this jammer.
Since the start of Russia’s war of invasion in Ukraine, the conflict has spread into all environments (land, air, sea and even space), as well as into several areas of conflict. Cyber, with computer attacks, but also information warfare, with destabilization and disinformation operations.
GPS jamming: how does it work?
GPS relies physically on radio signals at very specific frequencies. If for one reason or another, these are difficult to access, geolocation is disrupted, or even impossible.
But there is another field into which the conflict between Ukraine and Russia spills: that of electronic warfare, where radio waves are “militarized”. It is used to intercept enemy communications, especially if they are not or poorly secured, or to prevent them from circulating by jamming them.
A notable example of the effects of this electronic warfare was reported in mid-January 2024, not in the Ukrainian theater, but in the surroundings of the exclave of Kaliningrad, a tiny piece of Russian territory wedged between Poland and Russia. Lithuania. Around 500,000 people live there and significant military assets are located there.
Indeed, several reports on X (formerly Twitter) have reported the use of a powerful wave jammer in Kaliningrad. This is the case of Jürgen Nauditt, who shared a map of the region showing the intensity of interference (green: low or non-existent; orange: medium; red: high). It appears that Poland was heavily affected.
The situation of January 10.
The situation of January 16.
“ Yesterday, the Russians tested the electronic warfare system in Kaliningrad, so almost half of Poland and the Suwalki corridor were deprived of GPS “, he wrote on January 18. Suwalki is an 85 km long space separating Kaliningrad from Belarus, an ally of Russia. It is actually the border between Poland and Lithuania.
According to the GPS Jam website, two exceptional jamming events have taken place since the beginning of the year around Kaliningrad, on the 10th and January 16. According to the map, a good half of Poland was affected by this test, and some territories in Sweden and Lithuania. Each time, the same two areas were generally affected.
Other disruptions, but of much lesser magnitude than those of January 10 and 16, have been noted since the start of the year. There was one a little stronger than the otherson the 13th, without knowing whether this and the others have any link with the electronic warfare system located in Kaliningrad.
A Russian GPS signal jammer called Tobol
We know that the exclave has had special equipment for several years. Le Vif was already talking about it in April 2023. On January 18, the Intelligence Online site indicated that this system, called Tobol, experienced a “ rise in power » likely to worry Western countries. European intelligence services are on alert.
Several Internet users tried to estimate the location of the alleged GPS jammer in Kaliningrad, reports John Wiseman, the author of the GPS Jam site. The events observed for several days, and even before January, all point in the same direction. The point of origin seems to be in this small piece of land.
Tobol’s objectives are discussed. The tests in any case affect countries that are members of NATO (Poland, Lithuania) or in the process of becoming so (Sweden). However, the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, although they are not in direct confrontation with Moscow, have taken up Ukraine’s cause.
Deliberate actions or poorly controlled tests?
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has become not only a refuge for Ukrainians, but also a key logistical and military hub in aiding Kiev. It is even a country that provides one of the most important assistance in the defense of Ukraine.
It is impossible to determine whether these actions are deliberate on the part of Moscow or whether they are poorly controlled tests. In any case, they are part of a context of growing tension between NATO and Russia. Tension accentuated by the shift of Sweden and Finland, which abandon their neutrality for NATO.
In any case, this is not the first time that Russia finds itself in the dock, whether in Kaliningrad or in other regions of the world in which Moscow has an immediate interest: the Black Sea, the east of the Mediterranean Sea or even Syria, of which the regime is also an ally.
In October 2023, Radio Free Europe published an article titled: “Alleged Russian jamming of GPS poses new risks to the Black Sea region”. In March 2021, The Telegraph and The Times reported that Russia was suspected at the time of jamming the GPS systems of British army aircraft based in Cyprus.
In 2019, Le Monde returned to the new GPS war and its risks, reporting significant disruptions off the coast of Syria. “ The area is completely blurred “, declared a French officer to our colleagues. Actions which would aim to repel Western warships so that they do not get too close to Russian bases.
There remains the question of the use of Tobol. Is it a question of marginally disrupting NATO’s borders, whether old member countries or new arrivals? Or is this an opportunity to test a system for wider use in a theater? This could be Ukraine, where there is already jamming going on.
We know that Russia does not appreciate Starlink’s presence in Ukraine – it has even been reported that certain services that are very useful to the Ukrainian army have been occasionally interrupted to avoid a more serious escalation with Russia. We also know that Western weapons rely on GPS for guidance.
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