US Navy aircraft carry out reconnaissance missions near the Crimea and Russia's Mediterranean flotilla
A US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft flew a reconnaissance mission near Russia’s borders in the Black Sea region on Wednesday, Interfax reported, citing websites that track military aircraft. On the same day, another Poseidon carried out a similar mission near Russia’s naval flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea.
A P-8A Poseidon with tail number 168 434 reportedly took off from the Singonella airbase in Siciliy and proceeded to the Black Sea where it circled near the Crimea, dropping its altitude from 10,200 meters to 6,200 meters. The aircraft allegedly turned off its transponder when it was near the Crimea.
Another Poseidon with tail number 168 855, also based in Sicility, surveilled the Russian flotilla 60-80 km off the coast of Syria at an altitude of approximately 4,500 meters.
Moscow reported on Tuesday that the Russian flotilla, head by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, launched attacks against terrorist positions in the Idlib and Homs provinces.
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.