This morning an US Navy Lockheed EP-3E “Aries II” (reg. 159887) left Souda Bay AB to make a new ISR (Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) mission off Libya.
This type of mission is usual and we tracked the presence of the Aries off Libya different times in the past.
Usually the aircraft operates with the transponder in Mode-S and therefore we cannot track it except in the take-off or landing phases in Souda.
In the past, when it has been possible to track the mission we have seen the aircraft operate both off western Libya (Tripoli area) and eastern Libya (Benghazi).
The Aries has landed in Souda around 11:00 CEST.
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The US Navy appears also been watching Kaliningrad frequently with Poseidon aircraft.