Surveillance over the Ionian Sea: Italian and Greek AEW assets in simultaneous flight

Today, radar tracks highlighted an interesting aerial surveillance activity over the Ionian Sea. As shown on the map, the airspace saw the simultaneous operation of two different Airborne Early Warning (AEW) assets belonging to the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) and the Hellenic Air Force (Polemiki Aeroporia), respectively. Although the two aircraft shared the same stretch of sea, their missions appear to have completely different profiles and purposes.

The long-range patrol of the Italian CAEW

Over the western part of the Ionian Sea, off the coasts of Calabria and Sicily, a Gulfstream E.550 CAEW (Conformal Airborne Early Warning) of the Italian Air Force was operating. The aircraft, with registration MM62293 and operating under the callsign IAM1470, has been conducting this type of mission on a nearly regular basis for about ten days.

A particularly relevant operational detail is the duration of these sorties: the flights often last around 8 hours, maintaining a persistent holding pattern over the sea. Although there are no official communications regarding the specific reasons for this intense deployment, it is highly plausible that these long-range surveillance missions are linked to the recent tensions in the Middle East—specifically the situation in Iran—and the subsequent heightened anti-missile alert status ordered by the Italian Ministry of Defense.

Exercise support for the Greek AEW&C

Moving eastward, close to the coast of the Peloponnese, the Greek surveillance aircraft was tracked. In this case, it was an Embraer ERJ-145H AEW&C (registration 374), tracked in flight with the callsign OURANOS11.

Unlike its Italian counterpart, the Greek asset’s sortie had a significantly shorter profile, operating in the area for just about an hour. The presence of the Hellenic radar aircraft is most likely unrelated to the Italian strategic alert dynamics, being instead directly linked to the multinational exercise Iniochos 2026. This complex training activity, currently underway and scheduled until the 20th of the month, is primarily centered around the Andravida air base, located in the western Peloponnese, just a short distance from the area where the aircraft orbited.