US reconnaissance aircraft that may be monitoring Russia spotted in Europe - Newsweek
Illustrative photo: The US has sent an aircraft to Europe for reconnaissance (Getty Images)
The United States has sent an RC-135U aircraft, known as Combat Sent, to Europe. It is believed to have been gathering intelligence on Russi, Newsweek informs.
According to media reports, the Combat Sent landed at Mildenhall Air Base in eastern Britain on August 18. Since then, it has conducted several hours of flights in the Baltic region, which borders Russia and Belarus.
The aircraft is designed for reconnaissance and can detect and identify signals from foreign military ground, sea, and air radar systems.
"Intelligence collected by the Combat Sent helps determine the detailed operating characteristics and capabilities of foreign military radars, the Air Force says. This enables US defense planners to develop evasion techniques and equipment that can detect, warn of, or defeat adversary systems," the article states.
The exact purpose of its mission, as well as whether the collected information will be shared with other countries, remains unknown.
Russian provocations
It is worth noting that Russian military aircraft have repeatedly flown over the Baltic Sea, which could be one of Russia's provocations. On August 3, Swedish and German fighter jets intercepted two Russian Su-30 aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
On August 12, Polish F-16 fighters were also scrambled to intercept a Russian Il-20 aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
