American RC-135U reconnaissance aircraft spotted near occupied Crimea

A flight of an American Boeing RC-135U Combat Sent reconnaissance aircraft was recorded over the Black Sea near occupied Sevastopol. Information about this appeared on the monitoring resource ItaMilRadar.

According to the site, the aircraft with the call sign JAKE37 was in neutral airspace, conducting surveillance near the coast of Crimea and Sochi. The flight of the aircraft caused concern in the russian media, which traditionally called such missions a "provocation" by NATO.

It is noted that the RC-135U took off from Mildenhall Air Force Base in Suffolk, UK, about five hours ago, after which it flew over the territory of the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and entered the Black Sea through Romania.

The RC-135U is a member of the specialized Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft series and is designed to collect and analyze radar radiation. It is used to obtain detailed electronic intelligence (ELINT) on enemy air defense systems and radar networks.

In the past, the United States has typically used RQ-4 Global Hawk drones in the region, but this time a manned strategic aircraft was involved. The United States regularly conducts such flights as part of its monitoring of russian military activity and security control near Ukraine's borders.

As a reminder, Belgium has allowed to shoot down unknown UAVs spotted over military facilities.