MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. A US reconnaissance aircraft has been flying over the international waters of the Barents Sea for several hours, accompanied by a US tanker aircraft, a source in the oceanic sector control service of the Bodo Flight Information Region, administered by Norway, told TASS.
The aircraft are a Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft and a Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker, both operated by the US military, the source said. Both aircraft took off from RAF Mildenhall in the UK and are flying at altitudes of 7.4 to 7.7 kilometers, outside the air corridors used by civilian aircraft.
The source said the flight most likely indicates that the US military is testing its aerial refueling system under the region’s specific climatic conditions.
Neither aircraft has entered the airspace of any coastal state, and both are expected to return to their base after completing the mission, the source emphasized.
He also noted that both aircraft are relatively old, having been in service for more than 60 years.
Earlier, a TASS source in the European Union’s air traffic control services reported that, for the second consecutive day, a NATO Bombardier Artemis II reconnaissance aircraft had been operating in the Baltic Sea region, including near the Kaliningrad Region.