In September 2025, a Widerøe Airlines flight was attempting to land in Vardø, Norway, which sits within the country’s far eastern arm, some 40 miles from the Russian coast. The cloud deck was low, and so was visibility. In such gray situations, pilots use GPS technology to assist them land on a runway and never the side of a mountain.
But on today, GPS systems weren’t working accurately, the airwaves jammed with signals that prevented airplanes from accessing navigation information. The Widerøe flight had taken off during certainly one of Russia’s frequent wargames, during which the country’s military simulates conflict as a preparation exercise. This one involved an imaginary war with a rustic. It was nicknamed Zapad-2025—translating to “West-2025”—and was happening just across the fjord from Vardø. In accordance with European officials, GPS interference was frequent within the runup to the exercise. Russian forces, they suspected, were using GPS-signal-smashing technology, a tactic utilized in non-pretend conflict, too. (Russia has denied some allegations of GPS interference previously.)
Without that guidance from space, and with the cloudy weather, the Widerøe plane needed to abort its landing and proceed down the coast away from Russia, to Båtsfjord, a fishing village.
