On September 6, the Portuguese Air Force closely monitored the passage of four Russian-flagged vessels through Portugal’s continental exclusive economic zone.
The ships included a refueling ship, a submarine, an auxiliary ship, and a training vessel, as confirmed by the Portuguese military.
The Air Force issued a statement detailing the operation: “In a single mission, the Air Force monitored four Russian-flagged ships transiting the Exclusive Economic Zone today: a refueling ship, a submarine, an auxiliary ship, and a school ship.”
The monitoring mission lasted over three hours and took place during a routine operation inspecting fishing activities. During the mission, the aircraft tracked the refueling ship Vice-Admiral Paromov, moving from south to north, while the submarine Novorossiysk and auxiliary ship Evgeniy Churov were observed traveling from north to south. Additionally, the training vessel Kruzenshtern was also detected transiting from north to south.
So far this year, the Portuguese Air Force has dedicated over 60 hours to monitoring foreign vessels, completing 17 missions, including three this week alone.
The activity underscores ongoing vigilance in monitoring naval movements in European waters, particularly as tensions remain high between NATO countries and Russia.