US reconnaissance aircraft approached Russian Navy ships in the Mediterranean
Interfax.ru reported that on Tuesday, the US Navy’s P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft conducted another reconnaissance flight in the area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. According to websites that track the movement of military aircraft, this is presumably where the ships of the permanent task force of the Russian Navy are situated.
According to their information, the aircraft, which had the tail number of 168859, left the Sigonella airbase in Sicily on Tuesday morning. The aircraft then spent several hours conducting reconnaissance activities to the south and west of Cyprus.
On the previous day, the same aircraft carried out a mission over a part of the Mediterranean Sea where the permanent task force of the Russian Navy deploys its ships.
According to aviation websites, a reconnaissance plane of the Swedish Air Force approached Russia’s borders on the Baltic Sea on Tuesday. The Gulfstream 4 plane, with call sign SVF623, approached the Kaliningrad region from the north of the Baltic Sea. The plane followed an elongated ellipse along the entire coast on two occasions. The aircraft was also in the airspace over the exclusive economic zone of Russia over the Baltic Sea, without violating any state borders.
According to unconfirmed reports, the US Air Force’s RC-135W strategic reconnaissance aircraft also flew in the direction of the Kaliningrad region. It took off from Mildenhall airbase in the UK, taking a course over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft was last spotted over the North Sea, when it was approaching Denmark.
Cases of US spy planes approaching Russian borders have become more frequent over the last few weeks. This is occurring 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.
According to reports, the P-8A Poseidon aircraft made a reconnaissance flight near the coast of the Crimea over the weekend. A similar plane was reported observing the activities of Russian ships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
There are currently up to 10 ships, and support vessels for three Russian fleets, serving as part of the permanent task force of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea. Some of these vessels are equipped with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles. These ships provide protection from the sea for the Hmeymim airbase near the Syrian city of Latakia, and for the logistics facilities sector of the Russian Navy in Tartus.