Monitoring Moldova airspace

Today the second meeting of the European Political Community will bring together leaders from across the continent at Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, Moldova. This is about 20 km away from the border with the Transinistrian region.

The deployment of forces in the area is therefore considerable. Three NATO assets are currently operating in eastern Romania:

• USAF Boeing RC-135V (reg. 64-14846 – c/s JAKE17)
• NATO Boeing E-3A (reg. LX-N90452 – c/s MAGIC03)
• French Air Force A330MRTT (reg. F-UJCH), which is refuelling the non-isolated fighters engaged in Combat Air patrol in the area.

But very interesting is the fourth asset, an RAF Boeing RC-135W (reg. ZZ664) that is operating within Moldovan airspace: it’s the first time that a NATO asset is operating over Moldovan territory since we have been tracking flights in the area.