The image shows an aerial surveillance operation conducted by an asset of the Hellenic Coast Guard in the Mediterranean Sea, south of the island of Crete. The identified aircraft is an IAI Heron drone (reg. UC-02), an unmanned surveillance system used for maritime patrol and monitoring missions. Its flight path is highlighted in green, drawing various orbits and zigzag maneuvers in the area, indicating a targeted monitoring operation in that zone.
At the center of the scene, surrounded by the drone’s maneuvers, is the probable position of a Russian submarine, the Novorossiysk, identified by pennant number B-261. The Novorossiysk is a Kilo-class submarine, en route to the Russian base in Tartus, Syria.
We initially hypothesized that the drone was there to follow the submarine’s route, but in the same area (thanks to a tip from Twitter user @bolzano_gr), we noticed that several cargo ships have deviated from their course, which makes us think they were called to assist migrant boats in distress. This doesn’t rule out the possibility that the mission could also have had the objective of monitoring the submarine, which is indeed in the area.
On the other hand, the mission of a Spanish Air Force CASA CN-235M-100 (reg. D.4-05), which took off from Souda and is operating south of Crete, likely isn’t related to migrants. It might instead be closely connected to the navigation of the Russian submarine
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