Latest news with #RC-135
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Putin, Xi RATTLE Trump? US Spy Plane 'Flies' Near China After Nuke Sniffer 'Scans' Russian Nuke Base
/ Aug 09, 2025, 08:40AM IST A U.S. military aircraft was detected flying over the South China Sea. According to a Newsweek report which cited FlightRadar24 data, the RC-135 aircraft probed the waters around Spratly and Paracel Islands during a 10-hour flight. The American aircraft's sortie comes days after Washington DC deployed a 'nuke sniffer' plane near Russia. Watch out for more.
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Science
- Newsweek
US Intelligence Flight Detected on China's Doorstep
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A United States military aircraft designed to gather radar signals was detected flying deep in the contested South China Sea on Tuesday, publicly available flight data showed. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry and U.S. Pacific Air Forces via email for comment outside of office hours. Why It Matters The Pentagon typically does not disclose specifics about its military operations, but a U.S. Air Force fact sheet says the Combat Sent collects "strategic electronic reconnaissance information" for decision makers in the U.S. military chain of command. "Locating and identifying foreign military land, naval and airborne radar signals, the Combat Sent collects and minutely examines each system, providing strategic analysis for warfighters," the Air Force said, in a description of the platform's role in developing effective anti-radar countermeasures such as jamming. What To Know The RC-135U, also known as the Combat Sent, probed the waters around the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands in a 10-hour flight from a major military hub in southwestern Japan, according to self-reported geodata recorded by the website Flightradar24. The August 6 flight was first spotted by open-source intelligence analyst MeNMyRC1, a former RC-135 crew member and signals intelligence platform specialist. They said it was unusual for U.S. spy flights to be seen so far south in the South China Sea, while noting that the area often lacks enough ground receivers to pick up aircraft tracks. The Combat Sent, which was deployed in late June from the continental United States to Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, flew its latest sortie just after 6 a.m. universal coordinated time, or UTC, according to Flightradar24. It did not land until after 4 p.m. UTC the same day. An RC-135 V/W RIVET JOINT takes off from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on March 31, 2025. An RC-135 V/W RIVET JOINT takes off from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on March 31, 2025. Chad Watkins/U.S. Air Force Flight records showed the Combat Sent has been deployed on suspected electronic intelligence-gathering flights at least 11 times since July 1, probing contested areas including just south of the North Korean border as well as near China's southernmost province of Hainan, home to one of the Chinese navy's aircraft carriers stationed in the South China Sea. The Air Force says the Combat Sent aircrew includes "a minimum of 10 electronic warfare officers…and six or more mission area specialists." The plane has a fuel range of over 4,500 miles and an operational ceiling higher than 35,000 feet. The U.S. military has two Combat Sent platforms in operation. They first flew in the mid-1960s and are expected to remain in service until the 2040s. Beijing-based think tank the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative wrote on X that it had tracked 48 sorties by U.S. spy planes over the South China Sea in July alone, four of which were RC-135s. China claims sovereignty over the Spratly archipelago off the west coast of the Philippines and has controlled the Paracel group east of Vietnam since the mid-1970s. In both sets of disputed islands, China has artificially expanded shoals and reclaimed reefs to create large military bases housing radars, barracks and airfields. What People Are Saying Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters on February 9: "US aircraft and warships frequently conduct close-in reconnaissance around China, which seriously threatens China's national security and undermines regional peace and stability. What Happens Next Both the U.S. and Chinese militaries are expected to continue deploying surveillance planes in the western Pacific.
Newsweek
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Spy Plane Sweeps Russia's Western Flank
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A U.S. spy plane has swept across NATO's northern flank—near major military bases in northwest Russia—flight tracking data shows, marking the latest flight by NATO surveillance aircraft close to Russian soil. A U.S. Air Force (USAF) RC-135V Rivet Joint aircraft took off from a base in eastern England on Tuesday for a roughly 12 hour flight, first traveling north over Norway before nearing Russia's Murmansk region, data from publicly available flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 shows. The aircraft reached the area northeast of the Russian town of Severomorsk before turning back and returning to the U.K. via Finland, the Baltic states that are pressed up against Russia, Poland, Germany and then the Netherlands. It skirts around Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, a wedge of Russian soil squeezed between Lithuania and Poland, tracking data indicates. Russia's northwestern Murmansk region borders NATO member Finland, and is home to the country's formidable Northern Fleet. The Northern Fleet plays a major role in Russia's nuclear arsenal. An RC-135W Rivet Joint and two F-35 Lightnings fly over The Mall during a flypast to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day in London, England, on May 5, 2025. An RC-135W Rivet Joint and two F-35 Lightnings fly over The Mall during a flypast to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day in London, England, on May 5, has a number of military bases and airfields around the city of Murmansk and nearby Severomorsk, the home of the main Northern Fleet headquarters and a major submarine base. The Olenya airbase, hosting long-range Russian bombers, is north of Severomorsk, and Russia has in recent years modernized its Severomorsk-1 naval airbase. Gadzhiyevo, another major submarine base, sits north of Murmansk and Severomorsk. The U.S. and the U.K. have both operated Rivet Joint aircraft in eastern Europe in recent weeks. A British Royal Air Force (RAF) RC-135 flew an almost identical flight path through Europe up to Murmansk last week. The Boeing RC-135 aircraft hoovers up what is known as signals intelligence, or SIGINT, which can come from a variety of sources, like written messages or data from weapons and radar systems. Iterations of the RC-135 have been in use with the U.S. military for decades. The USAF Rivet Joint, identified on FlightRadar24 by the call sign, "JAKE 17," took off from the U.K. base of Mildenhall at 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, and landed back at the same base at just after 7 p.m. U.K. time (2 p.m. ET). The USAF's fleet of RC-135s have been "hard pressed of late with urgent demands for SIGINT collection at U.S.-Mexico border, East Asia, eastern Europe, and the Middle East," Olli Suorsa, an assistant professor in homeland security at the government-owned Abu Dhabi-based Rabdan Academy, previously told Newsweek.
Newsweek
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
U.S. Spy Plane Tracked Near Iran
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A U.S. Air Force Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft was spotted flying from a military base in the Middle East over the Persan Gulf near Iran, flight tracking data shows. Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon and the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment. Why It Matters The Rivet Joint's tracked flight over the Persian Gulf shows the deployment of manned surveillance aircraft alongside the long-standing reliance on drones to monitor Iran following a 12-day conflict with Israel during which the U.S. bombed major nuclear facilities. The U.S. seeks to expand intelligence in the region given rivalries involving Iran, China, and Russia and security challenges that include nuclear developments in Iran, maritime security challenges and increased monitoring of China's expanding military activities in the Indo-Pacific region. An RC-135 V/W RIVET JOINT takes off from Offutt Air Force Base on March 31, 2025. An RC-135 V/W RIVET JOINT takes off from Offutt Air Force Base on March 31, 2025. Chad Watkins/U.S. Air Force What To Know The Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint that flew a mission over the Persian Gulf operated out of Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. air force base in the region. The aircraft departed its home base at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday. It then transited through RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom on Monday, before arriving in Qatar on Wednesday, flight data from Flightradar24 showed. The Rivet Joint is a Boeing plane with a crew of over 30 that can gather signals intelligence. Tensions remain high in the region despite a truce between Iran and Israel. Iran said Wednesday it seized a foreign oil tanker in the Sea of Oman, suspected of carrying around 2 million liters of smuggled fuel. Rivet Joint 64-14846 on its first mission over the Persian Gulf after arriving 2 days ago. Nice tracking today after they have been flying with transponders in a tactical mode. — MeNMyRC (@MeNMyRC1) July 16, 2025 The U.S. conducted two similar surveillance missions near Russian territory, with an RC-135V Rivet Joint departing from a British air base on Tuesday and flew through allied European airspace. China, which is rapidly expanding its military, remains a key surveillance target for the United States. Beijing has repeatedly protested against what it describes as "close-in reconnaissance" near its coastline — operations that have, at times, led to tense or dangerous encounters between U.S. and Chinese aircraft. While Iran has said it would be prepared for talks, it has also rejected U.S. demands that it stop uranium enrichment and has threatened to enrich up to bomb grade levels if European countries impose new sanctions. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. The disagreement has raised the prospect of further military action if no deal can be reached and if Iran pushed ahead further with its nuclear program. What People Are Saying US President Donald Trump: "They [Iran] would like to talk. I'm in no rush to talk because we obliterated their site." Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei: "We entered the war with strength. The proof for this is that the Zionist regime was compelled to turn to the US for help. If it had been capable of defending itself, it wouldn't have turned to the US like that. It turned to the US for help... The US attacked Iran, and our retaliatory strike against it was very significant. God willing, once censorship is removed, it will become clear what Iran has truly done." What Happens Next The situation is likely to remain tense in the Middle East while there is no agreement over Iran's nuclear program. European countries and the United States have set a deadline of August.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
High-flying U-2 'Dragon Lady' spy planes and other recon aircraft are doing border security as Trump cracks down
The US is flying U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy planes on patrol missions around the southern border. The top Air Force officer confirmed the involvement of the aircraft last Friday. The U-2 planes join other surveillance aircraft on missions around the US-Mexico border. The US military has its high-altitude U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy planes and other reconnaissance aircraft flying patrol missions along the southern border, a senior Air Force officer has confirmed on social media. US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Friday that U-2, RC-135, and remotely piloted aircraft — or drone — crews are providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support for US Northern Command at the border "to restore sovereignty and protect American communities." The Trump administration has deployed a range of American military assets to the US southern border with Mexico as part of the crackdown on illegal immigration and the drug cartels, which officials have said are national security concerns. Deployed military assets include aircraft, ground forces, armored vehicles, and even warships. US Air Force and Navy planes have been flying ISR missions around Mexico for several weeks now. The U-2 is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that can fly at over 70,000 feet and collect intelligence. Made by Lockheed Corporation, it was introduced in the mid-1950s and has been operated by the Air Force and CIA since then. During the Cold War, it flew over the Soviet Union and other communist countries. One of these planes was famously shot down in 1960 by Soviet Air Defense Forces. The high-flying U-2 can provide signals, imagery, electronic measurements, and signature intelligence, also known as MASINT. They are based at the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base in California, although they are rotated to operational detachments around the world. Because U-2 planes operate at such high altitudes, on the edge of space, the pilots wear full-pressure suits like those worn by astronauts. The aircraft have been upgraded throughout its service life, and the 33 that are still active were built in the 1980s. The aircraft is likely looking at retirement in the next few years, possibly as early as next year. CNN reported the U-2's involvement in the border missions last month, but Allvin's comments on X last Friday appear to be the first public confirmation of its involvement. Meanwhile, the RC-135 Rivet Joint is a reconnaissance aircraft that was introduced in the 1960s. Allvin didn't specify what kind of drones are involved, but CNN reported in February that MQ-9 Reaper drones had been flying covert missions inside Mexican airspace to monitor the cartels. Among the ISR aircraft flying missions on the border, P-8 Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft have also been reported to be involved. The Trump administration has made the southern border one of its main priorities, dispatching a large amount of military hardware to the area in a bid to tackle immigration and drug smuggling into the US. President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border at the start of his term. Since then, the Pentagon has dispatched thousands of troops, Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, and Stryker armored personnel carriers to the area. A Navy destroyer, USS Gravely, that was involved in the Red Sea conflict has also been deployed. Read the original article on Business Insider
