An RAF jet attacked by the Kremlin was denied electronic warfare protection in a desperate effort to save money.
The aircraft, which has been routinely used by senior members of the Royal Family and prime ministers, was literally defenceless when Russia jammed its GPS system.
The VIP jet was flying Defence Secretary Grant Shapps home from a Nato exercise in Poland when it suffered a half-hour satellite and communications blackout on Wednesday.
As well as the lack of military-grade GPS, the aircraft also has no counter-measures against a missile strike.
The sustained jamming attack exposed the shocking vulnerability of the aircraft – which will eventually cost an estimated £150million to upgrade to military standards. Yet the Dassault Falcon 900LX was flown close to Kaliningrad – the epicentre of Russian electromagnetic and cyber warfare capabilities.
The VIP jet was flying Defence Secretary Grant Shapps home from a Nato exercise in Poland when it suffered a half-hour satellite and communications blackout on Wednesday
The aircraft, which has been routinely used by senior members of the Royal Family and prime ministers, was literally defenceless when Russia jammed its GPS system
Rishi Sunak has flown on the jet at least nine times. It has also been used by the King and Prince William, as well as Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
The French-manufactured aircraft is favoured by the jetset, including Taylor Swift.
When the RAF acquired two Dassaults for £80 million in February 2022 air chiefs insisted the jets would be ‘upgraded with missile jamming systems and military communications’.
But the essential work will not be undertaken before 2026, according to official documents.
Only after military upgrades will the Dassaults offer the same protection as the four Royal Flight BAE-146s they succeeded. The decision to accept the Dassaults into service without military grade protections – and to fly the aircraft into Vladimir Putin’s backyard – has stunned MPs.
Former defence minister Mark Francois told the Mail: ‘It beggars belief that this country’s VIP transport aircraft, for senior ministers and even members of the Royal Family, was brought into service without a comprehensive defensive electronics suite.
‘Nelson’s sailors used to talk about ‘spoiling the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar’, but this is the 21st century equivalent. It is just ridiculous.’ The BAE-146s, which were withdrawn from service in 2022, were fitted with defensive aids suites to protect against electronic warfare threats.
It was allegedly attacked by the Kremlin. The sustained jamming attack exposed the shocking vulnerability of the aircraft – which will eventually cost an estimated £150million to upgrade to military standards
Such equipment helps to detect, prioritise and counter threats automatically, employing measures such as chaff, flares, infrared lamps, lasers and radar warning receivers.
The Mail understands the Dassaults are specifically lacking critical US technologies including Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Modules (SAASM) and M- Code, which would protect them. SAASM are decryption components in GPS receivers which provide security against Russian jamming systems.
A security source said: ‘It is cravenly dangerous to fly a UK military aircraft close to Kaliningrad without this sort of protection. For the Ministry of Defence to just say ‘oh, we’ll live with the risk until 2026 and pay for the upgrades then’ is so complacent.’
The decision not to upgrade the VIP jets with military-grade technologies was last night defended by Ben Wallace, who was defence secretary at the time.
He told The Times it would have been ‘a vanity project’ that took ‘millions away from military programmes when the defence budget was already being squeezed.’
Last night an MoD spokesman said: ‘As announced in 2022, the Envoy aircraft are being upgraded to full military and operational capability. It is not unusual for aircraft to experience GPS jamming near Kaliningrad and at no time was the safety of the aircraft threatened.’