Major General Pekka Turunen, Chief of Finnish Defence Intelligence, highlights growing concerns over GPS jamming diverting Ukrainian drones near the Gulf of Finland.
The Chief of Finnish Defence Intelligence has cautioned that the risk of drones drifting into Finnish airspace or onto Finnish territory is increasing amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The risk of a drone drifting into Finnish airspace or onto Finnish territory is growing all the time, the more Ukraine strikes in this area near the Gulf of Finland,” said Major General Pekka Turunen in an interview ahead of the release of Finland’s annual military intelligence report.
Turunen explained that Ukraine has intensified strikes on oil ports close to Finland. Russia counters these attacks with GPS jamming, which can divert drones relying on GPS navigation of course: “If a drone was using GPS for navigation to reach its target, it could be diverted somewhere else through this jamming.”
No such drift incidents have occurred in Finnish territory to date. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia, and its overall security situation has worsened since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, though the direct military threat level remains largely unchanged from a year ago.
The warning comes as Finland strengthens its counter-drone capabilities. The Finnish Defence Forces have recently acquired hundreds of SkyWiper Omni Max jammers (from Lithuania’s NT Service), handheld Airfence detectors (from Finland’s Sensofusion), and Smash rifle sights (from Israel’s Smartshooter) to protect troops and critical infrastructure from small reconnaissance drones.
Finland also maintains nearly 1,000 FPV reconnaissance drones for training and plans to train up to 500 new drone pilots annually.
Finland joined NATO in April 2023, ending decades of military non-alignment, and actively participates in regional efforts such as NATO’s Eastern Sentry and the EU’s “drone wall” initiative to secure its borders against drone threats.
“Finland’s security situation has deteriorated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022,” Turunen noted, adding that current political developments may encourage Russia to act more assertively.
The full Finnish military intelligence report, updating the national security assessment, is scheduled for release on Thursday.