2016

2016-11-18 / Eastern Mediterranean

On November 18, 2016, a U.S. P-8A aircraft monitoring carrier task group activity in the Eastern Mediterranean observed an unidentified low-flying object 55 nautical miles northwest of Latakia, Syria, via its EO/IR sensor. The object appeared to be in "sea skim mode," traveling at approximately 500 knots on a southeasterly heading, and passed between the Russian vessel INGUL ARS and one unidentified vessel before the P-8A lost visual contact after two minutes. The CTG 67.1 mission commander characterized the interaction as safe and assessed the activity as consistent with standard carrier task group activity.