Italian CAEW missions in the Black sea theatre

In the last week (on the nights of March 17 and 21), we recorded two missions of an Italian CAEW aircraft, a Gulfstream E.550 (reg. MM62293), in the Baltic area. These add to a previous mission carried out on March 4, bringing the total number of missions to three in the last three weeks after a long period without such activity in the region.

The CAEW (Conformal Airborne Early Warning) is an advanced airborne surveillance and intelligence platform equipped with AESA radar and SIGINT capabilities, allowing real-time detection, tracking, and electronic intelligence gathering. The Italian CAEW conducts a SIGINT mission type that, at present, only Italy has the capability to perform within NATO.

Notably, the other Italian CAEW (reg. MM62303) has not flown since mid-February.