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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| That USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint Caribbean Spy Flight Was Far More Common Than Most Think |
| 2019-02-20 |
| [WarZone] For weeks now, Venezuela has been in the grips of a political battle between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the United States and dozens of other countries have recognized as the country’s legitimate head of state. The plane spotting community is now among those intently watching the situation for signs of curious air traffic, or a potential U.S. military intervention. So, it certainly turned heads when a U.S. Air Force RC-135V Rivet Joint spy plane made an unusually public appearance recently in the Caribbean Sea. But Rivet Joint missions in the region are more common than many people might know and this sortie may not necessarily have been related to the crisis in Venezuela at all. Expert military aviation tracker and friend of The War Zone @aircraftspots was first to notice the RC-135V, serial number 63-9792, using the callsign Gismo 84, in the Caribbean on Feb. 14, 2019. The airliner-sized intelligence gathering platform subsequently linked up with a KC-10A Extender tanker, Spur 57. This isn’t uncommon for Rivet Joint flights, which can be many hours long as the planes fly long tracks close to target areas gathering valuable intelligence. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #3 why this type of information is now publicized Open source intelligence. The military can turn the transponders off, but that's not always practical or treaty compliant. There are plenty of hobbyists that follow this stuff, and bragging about your hobby is sort of the point. There's a whole community that does the same thing with military space assets. All you need is a telescope. Like being photographed on a public sidewalk, there is no expectation of privacy. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2019-02-20 09:20 |
| #2 It's a diversion. It's the cockroaches with embedded micro antennas they should really be looking for. |
| Posted by: Shoth Schwarzeneggar3463 2019-02-20 05:58 |
| #1 Not sure why this type of information is now publicized. Times have certainly changed. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-02-20 03:11 |