U.S. aircraft conducts reconnaissance near Crimea
A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft carried out a several-hour reconnaissance flight off the coast of the annexed Crimea, as well as near the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation, reported Interfax, citing Western aviation resources.
“The naval intelligence aircraft, with the tail number 168432 and the call sign PS156, departed from the Sigonella airbase in Sicily, made an approach to the coast of the Krasnodar Territory, and then flew in the area of Novorossiysk and Anapa,” the report said.
Then, flying back in the opposite direction along the entire southern coast of the Crimea, the American aircraft spent some time circling to the west of Sevastopol, from time to time coming as close as 40 km. After that, it continued its flight over the Black Sea near the western tip of the peninsula.
When flying near the coast, the Poseidon aircraft flew as low as eight thousand meters.
This was already at least the sixth flight of U.S. reconnaissance aircraft near the Russian borders on the Black Sea since the beginning of the year.
On January 7, the heavy U.S. Navy drone Global Hawk and the Poseidon spent several hours patrolling the entire coast of the Crimea on the Black Sea.