The Military Jammed GPS. A Medevac Plane Paid the Price.
What happened
In May, a medevac King Air crashed into a New Mexico mountainside, killing both pilots and two nurses, after the US military ran a GPS jamming exercise at the nearby White Sands Missile Range. Forced onto backup navigation they rarely used, the disoriented crew flew straight into terrain on a routine 30-minute hop.
Why this matters
This is reportedly the first US civilian plane crash tied to electronic warfare — and it's not an isolated blip. The military has run at least 10 similar jamming exercises in the past year, meaning ordinary flights hundreds of miles from any battlefield are quietly flying blind.
The slightly cynical read
The military tests its electronic warfare toys in real airspace shared by real planes, and the public finds out only after body bags. Notices get sent, boxes get checked, and somehow that still isn't enough to keep a medevac crew from smashing into a mountain.
What to watch next
Expect scrutiny of how (and whether) GPS jamming exercises are communicated to civilian pilots, plus pressure on the FAA and Pentagon to rethink where and how these drills happen as drone warfare tech keeps proliferating.