Russian Facility in Królewiec Behind Baltic GPS Interference
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Estonian news portal Delfi reports that a covert Russian military installation in the Królewiec region, just east of Poland’s border, is responsible for GPS interference affecting the Baltic states and the Gulf of Finland.
According to confidential sources, the facility’s primary mission is to monitor NATO satellites and communications in order to disrupt allied intelligence operations.
Documents obtained by Delfi indicate that the base in Pioniersk is part of Russia’s strategic “Tobol” electronic warfare network — a system of surveillance, defence, and command sites designed both to shield Russian satellite communications and navigation from NATO attacks and to interfere with NATO intelligence gathering.
Officially established in 2009 by the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Królewiec facility focuses on satellite monitoring. Other “Tobol” sites are located across Russia, including near Moscow, Penza, Cheboksary, and Ulan-Ude in Siberia.
The interference targets multiple satellite positioning systems — including GPS, Galileo, and Glonass — as well as satellite-based communications such as Starlink. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, neighbouring countries have reported increased aviation and maritime navigation problems, including altered flight paths and safety warnings in the Gulf of Finland after disruptions reported by ship crews.
In July, Estonian authorities detected new jamming equipment near the eastern border by Narva and along the Gulf of Narva coast. Experts believe these measures are intended to protect Russian facilities from Ukrainian drone strikes.
Finland’s Ilta-Sanomat notes that Russia has been developing navigation jamming technology since the 1980s, initially to counter Western GPS-guided weapons, with capabilities now expanded in response to NATO-supplied equipment used by Ukrainian forces.
