Extremely busy afternoon on the Ionian Sea.
After a few days in the Adriatic, the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is now underway in the Ionian Sea (as witnessed by the pair of USN Grumman C-2As that took off from Sigonella and landed, evidently, on the Bush).
In the same area, the Russian Navy tanker Akademik Pashin (probably, but we do not know for sure, accompanied by a Steregushchiy-class corvette) is heading back from the mouth of the Adriatic Sea.
Right on the Pashin’s position orbited a USN Sikorsky MH-60R departed from one of the Bush CSG units.
Meanwhile, a USN Lockheed EP-3E (reg. 157325) left westbound Souda Bay AB in Crete (switching off its ADS-B receiver shortly after take-off).
A complex situation that we have never observed in the Ionian Sea.
UPDATE: 2nd February 2023 – 12:00 CET
As the Akademik Pashin continued to move southwards, a USN Sikorsky MH-60R departed from a USNavy unit orbited the Russian ship. We don’t know whether the Steregushchiy-class corvette is still with the Pashin
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