Three NATO reconnaissance aircraft spotted near Kaliningrad Region

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Three NATO reconnaissance aircraft have been spotted near the Kaliningrad Region from the Polish and Lithuanian sides over the past two hours, a source in European Union air traffic services told TASS.

"One of the reconnaissance aircraft, a Bombardier ARTEMIS II, arrived in the Baltic Sea area from its permanent base in Constanta, Romania. It is currently preparing to fly in circles around the Russian region, using Polish and Lithuanian airspace as well as airspace over neutral waters in the Baltic Sea," the source said.

The aircraft was last seen in the area on August 10. On several other occasions, the Bombardier ARTEMIS II flew over the Baltic states and along Estonia's Gulf of Finland coast without approaching the Russian or Belarusian borders.

The second aircraft was a NATO Boeing E-3A Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft. Registered in Luxembourg, it arrived in Poland from the Geilenkirchen military base in Germany. "The aircraft is flying in circles at an altitude of about 9.5 kilometers in Polish airspace near Gdansk," the source said. Two Airbus A330-243MRTT tanker aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force were also detected near the city.

The third aircraft was a US Gulfstream EA-37B Compass Call II electronic warfare aircraft, which reached the Baltic Sea from Powidz, Poland. "At one point, the flight paths of the second and third aircraft coincided. The electronic warfare aircraft then headed directly toward the coast, turned around and continued on a separate route," the source said, noting that such flights by the aircraft are very rare in the area.