SPYDR at work

This morning, we partially tracked a surveillance mission carried out by an Italian Air Force Beechcraft B.350ER SPYDR (reg. MM62300).

The aircraft, which took off from Sigonella, headed west of Sardinia, where it operated for approximately two hours (outside the coverage of major tracking websites). The SPYDR is a next-generation aircraft designed for SIGINT/COMINT (Signal/Communication Intelligence) and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) operations, and is part of the 14th Wing based in Pratica di Mare.

It operates with a Flying Crew from the Air Force and a Mission Crew from both the Defence General Staff and the Air Force. The mission area was located in a contested EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) between Italy and Algeria, where similar missions have been tracked in the past.

In total, the SPYDR’s mission lasted about four hours.