The United States has deployed P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to Norway, carrying out missions close to Russian territory in the Baltic Sea, according to satellite imagery, flight-tracking data, and Norwegian military.
The P-8, designed for anti-submarine warfare, surface surveillance, and intelligence gathering, was photographed at Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport on Sept. 23. Satellite imagery reviewed by open-source intelligence analyst Osinttechnical suggested two or three of the planes were stationed there. Flight-tracking data indicated one of the aircraft flew a mission near Russia’s Kaliningrad region a few days later.
A spokesperson for Norway’s armed forces’ operational headquarters told local outlet Dagbladet that several U.S. P-8 aircraft were operating from Gardermoen to support “allied activity” in Norway’s surrounding areas.
Kaliningrad is one of Russia’s key military hubs in Northern Europe, bordering NATO members Poland and Lithuania. Tensions in the region have escalated in recent weeks over suspected Russian drone activity in Poland, Denmark, and Norway, as well as concerns over undersea cables and pipelines.
The deployment follows a string of NATO vigilance missions in the north. Photos released earlier this summer showed a U.S. Navy P-8 flying out of Keflavík Air Base in Iceland as part of NATO’s “Baltic Sentry” exercise in July, which aimed to improve the alliance’s response to destabilizing actions in the region.
According to Boeing, the aircraft can refuel in mid-air, allowing for long patrols across vast ocean areas. Norway and the U.K. also operate P-8 aircraft, in addition to the U.S. Navy.
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