US Navy plane tracked the movement of the Russian aircraft carrier group in the Mediterranean
According to websites that track military aircraft, the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft conducted a reconnaissance flight on Tuesday over an area in the western Mediterranean, to track a Russian Northern Fleet aircraft carrier group that is returning to Severomorsk, Interfax reported.
According to their information, the aircraft took off from an air base in Rota (Spain), on Tuesday afternoon and carried out a patrol mission to the north of the Spanish island of Alboran, which is located about 220 km to the east of Gibraltar. That is where, according to the Gibraltar websites, the Russian ships were located on early Tuesday.
According to Western aircraft websites, it is possible that on Wednesday, the Russian aircraft carrier group, which is returning to the base in Severomorsk after its deployment in the Mediterranean, will pass through Gibraltar into the Atlantic.
The group is headed by the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky. The group also includes the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov. This deck-based aircraft took part in a military operation in Syria.
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, citing military sources, while the Russian aircraft carrier group is passing near the Spanish coast it is being monitored by a Spanish Navy patrol boat, the Cazadora.
The Great Britain is preparing its Navy to accompany the Russian aircraft carrier groups later in its voyage. According to The Daily Telegraph, the British command has put a destroyer and a frigate in to service for this mission. The publication notes that the Russian aircraft carrier group will proceed past the coast of Great Britain on the route to Severomorsk in the coming week.
The Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said earlier that the aircraft carrier group is leaving the Mediterranean Sea as a part of the reduction of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria. This is a result of the truce which has been in effect in Syria since December 30th of last year.