The American Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II reconnaissance aircraft was detected over neutral Black Sea waters on April 17, according to data from Flightradar24.
The aircraft departed from Constanta International Airport in southeastern Romania and traversed nearly the entire southern coastline of the Black Sea. As of the latest monitoring, it is positioned near Sinop Airport in northern Turkey.
Analysis of the flight path indicates the Challenger executed multiple U-turns during its journey, with notable maneuvers in southeastern Turkish territory. The northern coast opposite the aircraft’s trajectory includes Krasnodar, Gelendzhik, Novorossiysk, and Sevastopol.
Earlier that same day, a NATO Boeing E-3A Sentry reconnaissance aircraft departed from Turkey to conduct surveillance activities within approximately two hours of Ukraine’s border region. This flight followed the Turkish Black Sea coast before proceeding over Bulgarian territory. In Romanian airspace, the aircraft performed circular maneuvers close to the Ukrainian border.
This follows prior sightings of the Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis II near Kaliningrad on April 1 and a Swedish Gulfstream S102B Korpen electronic reconnaissance aircraft recorded in similar proximity on March 31. On that date, a Gulfstream IV reconnaissance aircraft from the Swedish Air Force was also observed near the borders of the Leningrad Region and Karelia.
