In September 2025, a Widerøe Airways flight was making an attempt to land in Vardø, Norway, which sits within the nation’s far jap arm, some 40 miles from the Russian coast. The cloud deck was low, and so was visibility. In such grey conditions, pilots use GPS expertise to assist them land on a runway and never the aspect of a mountain.
However on this present day, GPS programs weren’t working accurately, the airwaves jammed with alerts that prevented airplanes from accessing navigation info. The Widerøe flight had taken off throughout one in all Russia’s frequent wargames, wherein the nation’s navy simulates battle as a preparation train. This one concerned an imaginary warfare with a rustic. It was nicknamed Zapad-2025—translating to “West-2025”—and was occurring simply throughout the fjord from Vardø. In accordance with European officers, GPS interference was frequent within the runup to the train. Russian forces, they suspected, have been utilizing GPS-signal-smashing expertise, a tactic utilized in non-pretend battle, too. (Russia has denied some allegations of GPS interference prior to now.)
With out that steerage from area, and with the cloudy climate, the Widerøe aircraft needed to abort its touchdown and proceed down the coast away from Russia, to Båtsfjord, a fishing village.
