US Navy P-8A Conducts SIGINT Mission over the Black Sea

Yesterday afternoon, a US Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon carried out an extensive signals intelligence (SIGINT) missionover the Black Sea after taking off from NAS Sigonella (Sicily).

Shortly after departure, the aircraft rendezvoused with a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker over eastern Romania for an aerial refueling. It then moved further east, conducting surveillance orbits off the coast of Novorossiysk, Russia’s main naval base on the Black Sea. After several hours of activity, the Poseidon returned to Sigonella.

This marks the second US surveillance mission in the region within just a few days, following the operation carried out by a US Army “Artemis” SIGINT aircraft.

NATO and US assets continue to operate regularly in the region, highlighting the Alliance’s determination to closely monitor the movements of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, especially around Novorossiysk, which has become Moscow’s main naval hub following repeated Ukrainian strikes against Sevastopol in Crimea.