Three NATO Reconnaissance Aircraft Spotted Over Baltic Sea Near Kaliningrad

MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. Three NATO reconnaissance aircraft have been spotted over the Kaliningrad Region, an EU source in the flight dispatcher services told TASS.

"A Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft dispatched from an Estonian military base flew over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea near the borders of the Kaliningrad Region," the source said, noting that the aircraft may have been used for monitoring and aerial photography. According to the source, the aircraft is currently in Lithuanian airspace and moving close to Russia’s state border.

In addition, a US Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II intelligence and reconnaissance jet took off from Romania’s Constanta. In recent months, it has been frequently spotted both near the Kaliningrad Region and over the neutral waters of the Black Sea. "As of now, it is reportedly somewhere over the Kaliningrad Region, moving towards the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea via Lithuania and Poland, which have provided their airspace for it," the source emphasized.

In this regard, he recalled that in April, the Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II flights were recorded over the Black Sea together with the UK Royal Air Force’s Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint intelligence aircraft. Another aircraft that took off from an Estonian military base is the Swedish Air Force's Saab 340B ISR, which is also flying toward the Baltic Sea's neutral waters. "Judging by its technical parameters, this aircraft can carry out reconnaissance at a distance of 300 to 400 kilometers," the source said. According to him, the jet is now in Lithuania’s airspace.