A NATO reconnaissance aircraft has been spotted over the international waters of the Black Sea since the morning.

Axar.az reports that a source in the European Union’s air traffic control services told TASS.

“The NATO-operated Bombardier ARTEMIS II reconnaissance aircraft took off from Romania about 30 minutes ago. It is based at an airfield in Constanța and is currently operating over international waters in the southern part of the Black Sea,” the source said.

According to the source, the aircraft entered the area through the UDROS waypoint, which is under the responsibility of Bulgarian air traffic controllers, and began its mission.

“It will most likely spend several hours flying along its standard route, from west to east across the sea and back, without entering the airspace of any of the coastal countries,” the source added.

The source recalled that last summer, the Bombardier ARTEMIS II set a kind of record by spending nine hours over the Black Sea in a single day.

The reconnaissance aircraft is currently flying outside the routes designated for civil aviation, at an altitude of approximately 10 kilometers, according to the source.