In the early afternoon, there was intense activity in the Black Sea area. A USN Boeing P-8A, which took off this morning from NAS Sigonella, carried out its usual mission over the Danube Delta.
Later, a RAF Boeing RC-135W (reg. ZZ666) arrived and operated over the Black Sea off the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria.
Supporting this flight along the Romanian coast, a French Air Force Airbus A330MRTT (reg. F-UJCP) refueled two French Navy Rafale fighters (f/n FNY5811/2) which took off from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, yesterday departed from the base in Toulon.
The fighters were refueled first west of Corsica and then again over eastern Romania. The exact whereabouts of the Rafale jets are uncertain due to strong jamming, although a plot appeared south of Crimea.
However, the area’s jamming interference makes it difficult to confirm if the track was not an “echo” of another position.
Ensuring air control of the area was a French Air Force Boeing E-3F (reg. 702), which took off from Avord Air Base in central France.