The State is opting to retain out-of-date aircraft navigation systems as they are less susceptible to Russian jamming attacks compared to more modern technology, according to records obtained by The Irish Times.
This is despite warnings from the State’s air navigation agency that this equipment is nearing the end of its service life.
In recent years, and particularly since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, incidents of civilian aircraft navigation being jammed or spoofed (deliberately fed false data) have increased dramatically.
Some of these incidents are an unintended side effect of efforts by both sides to jam military aircraft, missiles and drones near the front line. Others are believed to be deliberate attempts by Russia to interfere with European aircraft as part of Moscow’s hybrid warfare campaign.
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A recent International Air Transport Association report noted a 67 per cent increase in jamming incidents and a 193 per cent increase in spoofing incidents between 2023 and 2025.
While these incidents chiefly impact aircraft flying near conflict zones in eastern Europe and the Middle East, Irish officials are concerned they are also a risk to Irish airspace.
Several incidents have already occurred in Irish-controlled airspace over the Atlantic.
In response, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is slowing down a programme to replace ground-based navigation systems with satellite systems which use the Global Positioning System (GPS).
The ground-based beacons are being retained, despite nearing the end of their service life, as they are far less vulnerable to deliberate interference from hostile actors compared to GPS.
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Concerns about jamming are regularly raised at meetings of the National Airspace Policy Body (NAPB), a little-known group which meets at least once a year to discuss issues concerning Irish airspace.
It consists of senior officials from the Department of Transport, the IAA, the Department of Defence and AirNav Ireland, which provides air traffic control services to the State. The head of the Air Corps, Brigadier General Rory O’Connor, is also a member.
During an NAPB meeting at Casement Aerodrome in February 2024, the Air Corps warned against “optimism” about implementing an EU regulation to move entirely towards satellite-based navigation systems by 2030.
“The current issues facing Europe, including the increase in spoofing and jamming in particular, means that conventional navigational aids may need to be retained for contingencies,” it said.
These attacks have increased in recent years “particularly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with jamming (blocking the signal) being endemic”, minutes of the meeting stated.
The Air Corps said consideration must be given towards retaining “traditional navigational aids”.
However, AirNav stated a lot of the conventional navigational aids in use are approaching their expected end-of-life dates.
Another meeting took place in May 2025 at the Air Traffic Control Tower in Dublin Airport where the same warnings were repeated.
A planned withdrawal of ground-based systems “must be reviewed considering the increased interference with satellite-based services”, it was decided.
The meeting discussed ways to mitigate interference and jamming, “including the retention of traditional ground-based infrastructure”.
The IAA stated “a risk-based approach is taken to planned obsolescence” which takes into account increased attacks on satellite navigation.
An estimated 1,500 flights a day experience GPS jamming of some sort, with experts blaming Russia and Israel.
Separate Government records show there have also been numerous successful attempts to jam civilian aircraft communications in Irish-controlled airspace in recent years.
This includes one incident originating in Russia which jammed a high-frequency radio channel used by Irish air traffic controllers to communicate with aircraft over the Atlantic.
In response to queries, an IAA spokeswoman said incidents of jamming in Irish airspace “do arise from time to time”, but overall remain “relatively limited and stable”.
They said the move towards satellite navigation is “well advanced” but confirmed ground-based systems are being retained in line with EU regulations “as part of a planned resilience strategy”.
Systems approaching the end of their life do not pose safety risks as they are regularly inspected and retained and “remain subject to strict international and European regulatory requirements”, the IAA said.
