North of the Sicilian coast, this afternoon we monitored unusual activity carried out by both a U.S. and an Italian asset.
A U.S. Navy Boeing P-8A, which took off from Souda Bay Air Base, operated extensively northwest of Palermo, orbiting at low altitude (around 1,000 feet) for over three hours late this morning.
A similar mission, albeit conducted further east and at a slightly higher altitude, was carried out by an Italian Air Force ATR P-72A (registration MM62280).
Marine monitoring sites did not report any notable vessels in the area. However, this activity inevitably reminds us of similar operations tracked off the coast of Rome late last week.
It’s hard not to link this to the presence of the Russian spy ship Yantar, which is currently in the western Mediterranean. This vessel is equipped with systems capable of monitoring undersea cables.
Could these events be connected?
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