A French Navy Atlantique 2 (reg. 21) carried out a long intelligence-gathering mission today over the Eastern Mediterranean, operating almost entirely with its ADS-B transponder switched off.
The aircraft departed from Souda Bay Air Base (Crete) early in the morning, heading east toward the coast of Lebanon. Its track only became partially visible during the return leg west of Cyprus, suggesting that the Atlantique 2 performed its main surveillance activity with the transponder disabled — a common procedure for sensitive ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) missions.
The area of operations, just off the Lebanese coast, has been frequently patrolled in recent weeks by NATO reconnaissance assets, reflecting the heightened attention on regional tensions.
At the same time, a US Navy P-8A Poseidon from NAS Sigonella was also active in the same sector, along with another NATO reconnaissance platform operating near Crete, indicating a coordinated surveillance effort across the central and eastern Mediterranean.
The Atlantique 2, a French maritime patrol aircraft specialized in anti-submarine and electronic intelligence missions, continues to play a key role in France’s and NATO’s monitoring of maritime activities in this strategically crucial area.
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