From Trapani it crossed the entire country, northwards, and then flew over Austria and the Czech Republic before reaching Poland in the very early hours of the morning between Friday and Saturday. The NATO spy plane, the Boeing E-3A Sentry (serial number LX-90448), operating under the callsign NATO05, had a clear objective: to guard the eastern flank of the Nato just as Moscow was bombing Kiev in one of the heaviest raids in recent months.
The mission
The NATO E-3A Sentry spy plane is one of the Alliance’s main early warning systems. It is capable of monitoring large areas of airspace and coordinate air operations in real time. It left Italy during the night, as reported by the flight data available on aircraft tracking systems, and crossed Austria and Czech Republic before reaching Poland. There it began a long orbit rather than returning south. This night shift took place as Russian forces were conducting a new wave of raids against Kiev, once again underlining the close temporal link between Russian offensive activity and NATO’s surveillance strategy.
Awacs operations
While there is no indication of direct involvement in the conflict, the timing is noteworthy: Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) missions carry out aerial surveillance, command, control and operations management, detecting threats hundreds of kilometers away and typically intensify when the risk of escalation increases. Once in service over Poland, the E-3A’s role will likely have included monitoring air activity near Ukraine, tracking long-range air movements, and supporting allied fighters and ground-based air defense networks. These missions do not signal an imminent change in NATO’s position, but they strengthen the Alliance’s determination to maintain a clear and complete picture of the air domain during periods of intense Russian activity.
The NATO scheme
The Itamilradar portal, specialized in air and maritime tracking in the Mediterranean area, explains: «Last night’s flight falls into a now familiar pattern: when Russian attacks intensify on Ukraine, NATO responds not with dramatic gestures, but with continuous and methodical surveillance. The silent redeployment of an AWACS aircraft at night reminds us that deterrence often works through presence, continuity and preparation, rather than headlines.”
