This morning at 10:32 CEST an Italian Air Force Gulfstream E.550 CAEW (reg. MM62303 – callsign PERSEO71) left Pratica di Mare AB to carry out a new surveillance mission.
The aircraft is now orbiting over eastern Romania. From this area the aircraft can monitor Moldova (with particular attention to the Russian-controlled region of Transnistria) and much of south-western Ukraine.
Transinistra is the equivalent of Normandy. But no one wants to admit that. For example, a Ukraine Airline just departed Moldova at 1900 UTC for somewhere heading 275 degrees.
And if you think that airline was serving twinkies and coffee to tourists then you must believe in the Easter Bunny.
Just guessing, but judging by the elongated pattern, I would say that that radar can only see left or right, otherwise it would be a circular pattern like the Nato E3.
The CAEW’s radar equipment consists of a left and right L-band radar on the fuselage and an S-band antenna in the nose and tail. Coverage is 360°.