NATO Reconnaissance Aircraft Completes Unusually Long Flight Over Black Sea
A NATO Bombardier Artemis II reconnaissance aircraft has been flying over neutral waters in the southern Black Sea for more than six hours, setting a record for NATO aircraft operations in the area, a source in the EU air traffic control services told TASS.
The aircraft took off from its base airfield in Constanta, Romania, at about 9:00 a.m. Moscow time (6:00 a.m. GMT) on July 27 and has been operating over neutral waters in the southern part of the Black Sea for more than six hours, the source said. The source noted that the aircraft as a rule circles the sea two or three times and then returns to its home airfield, which takes approximately two to three hours. According to the source, the aircraft’s flight for more than six hours in this area is “quite a rare occurrence.” Moreover, the aircraft turns around not over Romania, as usual, but over neutral waters in the airspace sector controlled by Bulgaria and Turkey.
The Bombardier Artemis II aircraft is navigating at an altitude of nearly 11 km from west to east and back, not entering the airspace of any littoral countries, except Romania from where it took off and where it will land, the source said. The source did not specify what might be the reason for the reconnaissance aircraft’s unusually long operation, but recalled that the aircraft had been spotted in the Black Sea several times over the past month.
On July 23, the aircraft was spotted in the area of Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, around which it flew several times, using Lithuanian and Polish airspace, as well as over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. On July 28, the aircraft was again observed circling the Kaliningrad Region’s borders several times, according to a source in the EU air traffic control services. That flight took place within the airspace of Poland and Lithuania, but did not enter areas over the Baltic Sea’s neutral waters, the source said. The aircraft was navigating at an altitude of 11 km and using air corridors for airliners.
The source noted that flights solely along land borders are quite rare, but they have occurred, including in the last two months. As a rule, the reconnaissance aircraft conducts a full circle around the Kaliningrad Region.
On August 2, the aircraft circled the Estonian coast of the Gulf of Finland several times and made several passes over central Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, but did not approach the border areas of these countries with Russia and Belarus, according to a source in the EU air traffic control services. On August 3, the aircraft was again spotted over the Black Sea, completing a record-breaking nine-hour flight without any refueling landings.
On August 5, the aircraft was observed for the second time since the beginning of the month over neutral waters in the southern Black Sea, the source said. The aircraft, which took off from its base airfield in Constanta, flew across the area from west to east at an altitude of about 10 kilometers without entering the airspace of any country except Romania. On the same day, the aircraft was also spotted near Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, which it circled using the airspace of Poland and Lithuania, as well as areas over the Baltic Sea’s neutral waters.