New mission for an Italian Air Force ATR P-72A (reg. MM6229) over the Eastern Mediterranean. This time it marks a first, as the Italian aircraft carried out a surveillance mission — possibly also SIGINT — reaching as far as the waters off the Syrian coast.
The area hosts nearly all of the (few) Russian naval units currently present in the Mediterranean.
To our knowledge, this is the first time such an operation has taken place. It is also worth noting that the mission flight plan closely resembles those routinely flown by U.S. Poseidons and drones over the past several years.
Once again, the mission originated from Souda Bay AB. The deployment to Crete allows the Italian aircraft to extend both mission duration and loiter time over the operational area compared to missions launched from Sigonella.
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