VLADIMIR Putin is using a top-secret electronic warfare system to spark chaos in Europe, a top military chief has warned.
The weapon has reportedly been jamming GPS technology on flights and ships across the eastern flank of Nato, causing severe disruption.
APPutin is using an electronic jamming system to spark chaos in Europe[/caption]
Google EarthPossible picture of the Tobol Satellite jamming system in Kaliningrad, Russia[/caption]
Getty Images – GettyNato troops in Eastern Europe[/caption]
A surge in disruption to the GPS guiding system for air and sea traffic has been detected in Finland, The Baltic nations and Poland, Estonian Military chief Martin Harem told the Telegraph.
He added: “What we have seen is a malfunctioning of GPS for ships and air traffic.
“And we really do not know if they [Russia] want to achieve something or just practise and test their equipment.
Estonia is the first Nato country to call out the Kremlin over the alleged disruption.
The suspected electronic warfare system is said to be based in Russia’s military base in Kaliningrad, where Putin made a recent visit in a chilling taunt to the West.
It is a Russian enclave squeezed between Lithuania and Poland that was annexed from Germany in 1945 – and had been a strategic point for the Soviet Union during the Cold War Era.
Experts fear that in case of a war against Nato, Putin would start the attack from Kaliningrad.
According to Western intelligence reports, the fixed jamming system is called Tobol – and it is said to be one of less than ten weapons currently being used by Russia to spark a wage an electronic warfare.
The jamming system reportedly looks like a huge dish with an antenna.
The secret weapon transmits signals on the same frequency as the satellite, which prevents connected devices from receiving the legitimate signal, reports the Washington Post.
An electronic warfare expert Dr Thomas Withington told the Telegraph that the dish could be directed to disrupt GPS signals in multiple directions – which could be key to protect Kaliningrad as well as Russia from potential incoming missiles.
He argued that the system is rather defensive in nature – and is being used as a shield against Nato’s arsenal of satellite-guided missile systems.
“This may surprise some people but I think, ostensibly, it’s defensive,” he added.
“The Russian military is highly concerned by Global navigation satellite system weapons.”
At the moment, however, the secret weapon is rather being used against commercial airliners and other sea vessels.
Recently there have been reports of planes suddenly dropping off tracking sites – likely due to their GPS being disrupted.
Experts warned that this could cause severe damage to the shipping industry, as they could collide due to not being able to see each other on navigation systems.