US Spy Planes Cuba
by Jolyon: United States
U.S. spy planes and surveillance drones have begun operating in large numbers around Cuba. Activity near Havana and Santiago de Cuba has risen sharply since February. RC-135 Rivet Joint spy planes, P-8 Poseidons, and MQ-4C Triton drones have been flying repeated missions close to the island. The aircraft are designed for signals intelligence, radar mapping, and monitoring military movements. Analysts are concerned about the visible pattern because similar flights preceded U.S. actions in Venezuela and strikes linked to Iran tensions. The Pentagon could conceal these operations if it chose to do so. Instead the aircraft are operating openly where they can be observed. At the same time American statements toward Havana have grown harsher. Officials are reportedly more worried about Cuban military ties to Russia and Iran. For the Cuban government the intended signal is likely unmistakable. Source: CNN
Transcript (en)
Why are U.S. spy planes packed with intelligence gathering devices circling the waters near Havana and southeast Cuba? These dots show where military aircraft and drones broadcast their locations and were picked up by open source trackers off the coast of Cuba, a surge since the beginning of February. These aircraft are built with special sensors to collect acoustic signals, gather signals intelligence, and capture radar imagery, all for monitoring foreign military operations and potential threats. The Pentagon declined to comment on these findings, and we've also reached out to the Cuban government. This isn't the first time we've tracked this sort of activity. Dozens of these same U.S. surveillance aircraft have been active around the war zone in Ukraine and near geopolitical hotspots on the Korean Peninsula and along Russia's western border. However, it is the same kind of highly visible surveillance operations that preceded U.S. ground operations in Venezuela and, more recently, strikes in Iran. As President Trump began regularly commenting on his views of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, publicly visible surveillance flights began off the coast. The same pattern played out more recently in Iran. I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. Can't let that happen. As the president has said repeatedly, he wants to address that problem diplomatically, but of course the president has other options as well. Hardening rhetoric from top administration officials paired with intelligence flights ended in military intervention for the second time. Whether or not the latest flights are explicitly meant as a signal from the Pentagon or the White House, the message is likely to be unsettling for Cuba's government.
