GPS interference comes from Russia: Govt

The Finnish authorities on Thursday said the interference with the GPS satellite navigation service in northern Finland during a NATO exercise came from the Russian territory.

“Finland considers Norway’s findings on the signal disruption to be reliable,” said a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry has submitted a report on the matter to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament.

The authorities, however, said it is not appropriate to release details on the matter to the public.

The Finnish authorities are continuing with the investigation into the GPS signal disruption that occurred during NATO’s Trident Juncture military drills.

The issue is being discussed with the Russian authorities through diplomatic channels.

Earlier, President Sauli Niinistö called for a probe into the alleged interference with the GPS satellite navigation service.

Before that Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said it’s highly probable that Russia was behind the signal blocking.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Russian authorities denied straightway the allegation of its involvement in the interference.

The Finnish Air Navigation Service sent a warning to the air traffic that satellite positioning based on the GPS system could be unreliable in a large area.

The situation assumed political dimensions on November 9 as Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Matti Vanhanen said such “infringement is comparable to a border violation”.

The Norwegian media have attributed comparable interference with GPS detected in Norway to Russia.

The NOTAM (short of “Notice to Airmen”) that was in force on 6-7 November covered areas extending from the airport of Kittilä northwards to the Norwegian border and eastwards to the Russian border.