Since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine, reconnaissance aircraft in the sky over the Black Sea (American in particular and NATO in general) no longer surprise anyone. However, judging by the merged data of the Pentagon, some interesting models could fly near the temporarily occupied Crimea.
In particular, Defense Express previously reported that the secret American RQ-170 stealth drone since September 2022 could conduct at least nine combat sorties in the Black Sea region, in particular for the purpose of reconnaissance of the territory of the temporarily occupied peninsula.
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But in the merged data, as The War Zone reports, in addition to the typical combat sorties of the RQ-4 Global Hawk and RQ-9 Reaper drones, the British RC-135W Rivet Joints, it is also noted that France conducted reconnaissance in the region with its Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
In this context, it is worth mentioning that back in 2012, Thales got a contract from the French Defense Procurement Agency to install Airborne Electronic Reconnaissance System (ASTAC) tactical reconnaissance modules on French Mirage 2000D fighter jets.
The integration was planned to be completed in two years, so that these aircraft could perform the tasks of tactical reconnaissance, which were then on the shoulders of the Mirage F1CR. The module is intended for monitoring the electromagnetic situation and carrying out radio-electronic intelligence.
It can work in a dense electromagnetic environment, the software of the module allows to give very high accuracy of direction determination. ASTAC can also identify enemy sensors in real time.
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