Media: NATO surveillance aircraft circles over Gulf of Riga

A NATO Boeing E-3A Sentry airborne early warning and control (AWACS) aircraft is conducting circular flights over the Gulf of Riga within the airspace of Latvia and Estonia, TASS reports, citing a source in the European Union's air traffic control services.

The report said the Luxembourg-registered aircraft took off from its home base in Šiauliai, Lithuania, before making several loops over the Gulf of Riga near Riga and Jūrmala.

It then entered Estonian airspace, where it continues to circle over the gulf.

The aircraft is operating at an altitude of around 9.5 kilometres, with its flight path passing through civilian aviation corridors.

The source did not specify the purpose of the mission but noted that the aircraft's onboard systems are capable of detecting and identifying airborne objects at distances of up to 400 kilometres.

"The aircraft is not approaching areas near the borders of the Baltic states with Russia and Belarus," the source added.

The same aircraft has previously been observed conducting circular flights over central Romania and near the Black Sea coast close to the Ukrainian border.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov