US reconnaissance aircraft monitors Russian ships in the Mediterranean
A US Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft monitored the Russian Navy’s flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea, Interfax reported, citing websites that track the movement of military aircraft.
A P-8A with tail number 168858 reportedly took off from the Sigonella airbase in Sicily and proceeded to monitor the Russian flotilla which is currently located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea where it is participating in military operations in support of the Syrian government.
At approximately the same time, after taking off from the Mildenhall airbase in the UK, a US Air Force RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft with tail number 62-4139 was active near Russia’s Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.
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, Kaliningrad, the Russian bases in Syria, as well as near Russian naval warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.