A US reconnaissance aircraft has carried out an extensive surveillance mission off the Libyan coast, flying between Tripoli and Benghazi, according to flight data reported by the Italian aviation monitoring website ItaMilRadar.
The mission was conducted by a Bombardier CL-600 ARTEMIS, one of the U.S. Army’s most advanced airborne intelligence platforms. The aircraft reportedly departed from the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Constanța, Romania, before flying across Bulgaria and Greece and entering the airspace above the central Mediterranean.
Tracking data revealed that the aircraft performed repeated circular flight patterns over international waters near Libya, indicating that the operation primarily focused on monitoring movements and electronic signals along the country’s northern coastline.
The Bombardier CL-600 ARTEMIS, short for Airborne Reconnaissance and Targeting Multi-Mission Intelligence System, is based on the Challenger 650 business jet and is equipped with sophisticated sensors and electronic intelligence equipment. It can intercept, analyze, and map radar and communication emissions, providing real-time intelligence on military or maritime activity.
Such reconnaissance flights have become increasingly common in recent years as part of broader U.S. and NATO monitoring operations in the central Mediterranean. The area remains a focal point for security surveillance due to ongoing political divisions in Libya, irregular migration routes, and concerns over smuggling and armed activity.
Although US military authorities have not issued an official statement regarding the specific objectives of this flight, the timing aligns with a recent uptick in Western aerial reconnaissance in North African airspace. These missions are widely seen as efforts to maintain situational awareness and assess developments on the ground amid Libya’s fragile security environment.
