US, Swedish and German reconnaissance aircraft monitor Russia's Kaliningrad region
US, Swedish, and German reconnaissance aircraft carried out simultaneous missions near Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, Interfax reported, citing websites that track the movement of military aircraft.
On Tuesday, a US Air Force RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft with tail number 62-4139 took off from Mildenhall Airbase in the UK and proceeded to monitor the coast of Kaliningrad. Two Russian Su-27 fighters reportedly took off to monitor the RC-135W’s activities.
At approximately the same time, a Swedish Gulfstream 4 reconnaissance aircraft with tail number 102003 made two passes over the coast of Kaliningrad at an altitude of 12,500 meters.
Similarly, a P-3C Orion anti-submarine patrol aircraft belonging to the German Navy took off from the Nordholz Airbase and proceeded to fly along Kaliningrad’s southern border.
Cases of US reconnaissance aircraft approaching Russian borders and military facilities have become more frequent over the last several months, particularly near the coast of the Crimea, the Russian bases in Syria, as well as areas of the deployment of Russian naval warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.