Map Shows 'Landmark' NATO Spy Flight Along Russia's Western Border

A United Kingdom spy plane carried out a landmark flight along the western border of Russia earlier this month, which saw it complete a full transit of NATO's eastern flank.

Newsweek's map, displaying Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, traces the flight of a Royal Air Force RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft, also known as Rivet Joint, on October 11 as it took off from the southernmost point of Greece on a flight to the northern tip of Finland.

The aircraft was "the first to complete a surveillance journey from NATO's most southerly point in the Mediterranean to the Barents Sea in the high north," the RAF said on October 15, adding that the flight was a noteworthy achievement and a landmark moment.