10:44 04-11-2025

US RC-135U Spy Plane Flies Near Sochi Before Returning to Europe

Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2), via Wikimedia Commons

A US Air Force RC-135U reconnaissance aircraft flew from the UK base Mildenhall along the Black Sea to Sochi before returning to Europe, according to Flightradar24 data.

A US Air Force Boeing RC-135U reconnaissance aircraft conducted a long-range flight along the Black Sea, approaching the Russian coast near Sochi before turning back toward Europe. The aircraft took off from the Royal Air Force base in Mildenhall, United Kingdom, according to flight-tracking data published by Flightradar24.

The American spy plane’s route crossed the airspace of several European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Upon reaching the Black Sea, it flew along the Crimean coast, moving close to Russia’s borders before changing course westward.

By 3:55 a.m. Moscow time, the RC-135U had already passed over the borders of the Czech Republic and Germany, continuing its return flight toward its home base in Britain.

Flightradar24’s publicly available data regularly records such reconnaissance missions near Russian territory, often conducted by US or NATO aircraft for surveillance purposes in the Black Sea region.