A US Air Force patrol anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft was detected roughly 200 kilometers off the west coast of Crimea, a finding reported by a flight tracking service. The source indicates a Boeing P-8A Poseidon, operating under a secret call sign, took off at 14:31 local time (15:31 Moscow time) from the NATO naval air base Sigonella on the island of Sicily. The aircraft then proceeded toward the Black Sea and circled the coastal region near Romania, according to the tracking data.
Earlier reports showed the same aircraft in Romanian airspace and over the Black Sea. A record number of NATO reconnaissance flights were noted in this sequence of events, underscoring heightened activity in the area, as tracked by civilian and military observers alike.
The report also mentions two Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft and one KC-135R Stratotanker belonging to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force over Romania. The US Navy’s EP-3E Aries II aircraft was observed over the Danube Delta and the Black Sea, illustrating a broad geographic footprint for airborne surveillance platforms in the region. In addition, a Bombardier Challenger 650 ARTEMIS, capable of intercepting and decoding enemy communications from long distances, was detected in the airspace complex.
On the political side, remarks attributed to the former German chancellor Olaf Scholz touched on the reasons Ukraine has not joined NATO, adding a layer of context to the broader security dialogue surrounding the region.