Russian Jets Intercept U.S. P-8 Poseidon with Secret Radar over Black Sea

Russian fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft carrying a classified radar system over the Black Sea.

This is according to footage released by the Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber, which is linked to the Russian Air Force.

The P-8 Poseidon, normally accompanied by NATO fighter escorts during such missions, was flying alone when Russian jets approached it for inspection and escort — a procedure known in peacetime aviation as “interception.” Fighterbomber noted that while U.S. reconnaissance flights occur almost daily in the region, they are not always intercepted.

This time, however, the aircraft was carrying the AN/APS-149 Littoral Surveillance Radar System, a side-looking radar station developed by Raytheon and considered part of the Pentagon’s classified programs. The system, later integrated into the Boeing P-8A Poseidon under the designation AN/APS-154, is designed to detect land and sea targets across hundreds of kilometers, though its official range remains undisclosed.

According to defense analysts, U.S. surveillance missions in the Black Sea serve several purposes: monitoring the Russian Navy, tracking missile activity, providing Ukraine with intelligence data, and signaling NATO’s continued presence near the conflict zone. Similar reconnaissance operations are also conducted periodically by France’s Air and Space Force.