New day of SIGINT missions in the Eastern Mediterranean

There are at least two missions that have taken place in the eastern part of the basin.

A USN Boeing P-8A, taking off from NAS Sigonella, has been orbiting off the coast of Lebanon, within the Beirut FIR (but outside Lebanese airspace).

The mission is still ongoing as of 16:00 CET, but the Poseidon has moved further north, off the coast of Syria.

Meanwhile, a RAF Beech Shadow R.1 (registration ZZ416) has taken off from RAF Akrotiri and headed south, where it has been operating for about 3 hours.

The aircraft could be off the coast of Israel/Gaza, but we are not certain because shortly after its departure, it turned off the ADS-B transponder.

It is worth noting that the United Kingdom is keeping at least one of these operational aircraft in Cyprus, as last week another Beech Shadow returned to the UK (making stops at Souda Bay and Nice).

RAF Beech Shadow R.1 (reg. ZZ507) coming from Souda Bay AB landing in Nice under heavy rain.
(📸 @matteoarrotta) pic.twitter.com/GOZtVTKKQZ

— Itamilradar (@ItaMilRadar) December 8, 2023