Thursday, January 16, 2025, 6:43 p.m
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After articles appeared in the media about a “mysterious” plane that patrolled the skies of Romania on Thursday, January 16, the Ministry of Defense reported that it is an aircraft that has been carrying out NATO missions for almost 2 years.
A Bombardier Challenger 650, known for its use in espionage missions, was spotted flying over Romania on Thursday, January 16. The aircraft took off from Mihail Kogălniceanu Airport in Constanta and performed a repetitive flight that covered the northern part of the country, extending to the border with Hungary, before returning to the point of departure. According to the Flight Radar 24 platform, this route was traveled several times in the course of a few hours, it says observatornews.ro.
The Ministry of National Defense communicated, according to the cited source, that the aircraft is a Bombardier Challenger 650, which has been in Romania for two years and performs regular patrol and research flights as part of NATO missions in the alliance’s airspace.
It is just one of many aircraft used by allies for similar missions, alongside aircraft from the United States, France and AWACS systems, which have advanced aerial surveillance and intelligence-gathering capabilities.
Jan. 16, 2025#Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Constanta #Romania-Moldova border#BRIO68 #A60693 USAF Bombardier Challenger 650 ARTEMIS pic.twitter.com/nvuDfw2C62
— Heo TaeJin (@AIYeyENGDdJkjTr) January 16, 2025
Thursday’s flight sparked interest because certain information, such as the callsign and route details, was omitted, which is against usual practice for publicly accessible online platforms.
The Bombardier Challenger 650, a luxury aircraft manufactured by the Canadian company of the same name, has been modified for espionage missions, being equipped with cutting-edge IT technologies capable of intercepting advanced communications, operating at high altitudes and at safe distances.
It was billed as “the most advanced spy plane in the world”.
Source: ziare.com
