In advance, it should have been given by the military notifications, according to which the GPS functionality may be disturbed in the region of these days. However, this message did not reach many inhabitants of the region. For example, fishermen were suddenly exposed to a situation in which their position-finding instruments were no longer functioning, the BBC reported.
By pointing out that this endangers the safety of their employees, various captains of fishing boats turned to the authorities. But even on land, the cell phone jammer led to problems. For example, it is feared that tourists relying on their GPS systems when traveling in Scotland could get lost and be harmed.
The local governments of some islands in the region also complained that the jammers not only obstructed GPS signals, but also caused problems in mobile and satellite television reception. For a time, some villages were said to have been cut off from communication with the mainland almost completely, as essential parts of communications and Internet connections now run on mobile networks.
The current NATO “Joint Warrior” maneuver is scheduled to continue until 17 October. It takes place twice a year with the participation of maritime, airborne and land forces. 14 states are involved in the current action.
According to the military, communications to the public had already been published in September. In addition, early October warnings had been issued on the usual maritime radio channels in the region. However, this was probably not enough to reach all concerned. So far it is unclear what went wrong. In previous maneuvers GPS jammers were also used without that it came to complaints, it was said. Military, ship, navy, battleship