RAF jet carrying John Healey has signal jammed near Russia border

It is not known if Healey was purposely targeted, but the newspaper reported that the flight’s path was visible on aircraft tracking websites.

The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.

During his visit to Estonia, Healey spoke to UK service members taking part in a Nato military exercise near the Russian border.

In the separate incident last month, a Russian Su-35 fighter approached a Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft, getting close enough to trigger its emergency systems, disabling its autopilot.

And a Su-27 jet also carried out six passes in front of the RAF plane, getting as close as six metres (19ft) from its nose.

Healey had praised the “outstanding professionalism” of the RAF crew during “unacceptable” Russian flybys, which the MoD said was the most dangerous Russian action since 2022, when a “rogue” pilot fired a missile at a Rivet Joint over the Black Sea.

In 2024, an RAF plane carrying then-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had its GPS signal jammed while flying close to Russian territory.