According to British Intelligence, Russia is likely considering bringing the Soviet-era M-55 MYSTIC B high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft back into service to rectify a critical failure to establish an adequate Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability.
“With an operating ceiling of over 70,000 feet, the aircraft has been recently employed as an earth-sciences research platform. However, it has been observed carrying a military reconnaissance pod, developed for employment on Russian fighter aircraft… Operating at high altitudes enables the sensors to work at considerable stand-off range,” the agency has determined.
The Russian Federation has several M-55 aircraft, which first took to the air in 1988. They performed research functions, participating in the study of the Arctic stratosphere in 1996-1997 and in Antarctica during 1999.
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