A strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint disappeared from radars while patrolling over the Barents Sea north of Murmansk on September 2, Gazeta.ru reports.
It disappeared only from civilian radars, but servicemen of the Northern Fleet of Russia continued to monitor it, says Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation Vladimir Popov. The most likely reason for the disappearance is the shutdown of transponders.
"If the transponder had been turned off, it would also have disappeared from secondary radar elements... But the unified airspace control system of the Northern Fleet undoubtedly continued to monitor the plane. "Most likely, civil aviation saw it, registered it and monitored it, and then called to report its disappearance," he stressed.
Military control systems, which are not subordinate to civilian agencies, "still knew" the location of the plane, Popov added.
The military pilot suggested that with the transponder turned off, the American plane reduced its altitude and headed for a NATO airfield.
Popov also stressed that during the incident, Russian airspace was not violated and no Russian fighter jets were scrambled.