Ukraine -- February 13, 2022

 

Updates

Later, 10:59 p.m. CT: of the 5-ship, only two are seen now. Chief-One-Two has reversed direction and is now heading west, back home; and LAGR966 is heading due north over France, also heading back home. It’s possible a two-ship and a three-ship are each “using” one transponder.

Later, 9:44 p.m. CT: Canada’s Trudeau calls emergency cabinet meeting for midnight tonight. Waited until after Super Bowl ended.. “Emergency Actions” to be called. Follows violence in BC earlier today. Won’t relax mandates under general civil disobedience. Runs risk of Canadian trucking industry calling nationwide strike. Empty shelves? You haven’t seen empty shelves yet?

Later, 9:13 p.m. CT: B-52s in oval re-fueling track waiting for tankers. Probably another thirty minutes. USN in spectator mode. Link here.

Later, 7:44 p.m. CT: destination -- Rendezvous.

Later, 7:35 p.m. CT: the B-52s picked up again; off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal. Same route F-111s flew when US bombed Libya decades ago. Everything suggests KC-135s en route to intercept B-52s (Chief-One-One and Chief-One-Two) over the Mediterranean en route to Ukraine. 

Later, 7:23 p.m. CT: holy mackerel! I've never seen this except in time of hostilities (and training exercises): three KC-135T Stratotankers in trail, now flying south-south-east over France. Earlier, recall that two B-52s departed the same British base and headed south around the Iberian peninsula before they turned off their transponders. 

Later, 7:10 p.m. CT: a USAF refueling a/c, a KC-135T Stratotanker, has just departed RAF Mildenhall. Wow. The RAF Mildenhall tarmac must be full of US a/c with multiple takeoffs every hour. The Brits must be loving. The Brits have three hobbies: plants, pets, and, planes.

Later, 6:11 p.m. CT: yet another USAF C-17 just entered airspace along Polish - Ukraine border. Over the entire country of Poland, right now, literally 1/7 of all tracked a/c are USAF military.

Later, 6:01 p.m. CT: this is interesting. An RAF C-17 departed Kiev in far east Ukraine and flew to and landed at Lviv in far west Ukraine. Evacuating Ukrainians from Kiev? That would be my first guess.

Later, 5:53 p.m. CT: two USAF B-52s in trail now flying southeast over English Channel. Chief-One-One and Chief-One-Two. This would be a good day to watch Dr Strangelove if not interested in the Super Bowl.

Later, 4:24 p.m. CT: another Global Hawk drone has just entered Ukraine airspace from the south.

Later, 4:20 p.m. CT: another USAF C-17 is flying over Krakow headed towards Ukraine.

Later, 2:11 p.m. CT: from two days ago, US B-52s have arrived in Europe, RAF Fairford, UK.

Later, 2:08 p.m. CT: Russian news agency, TASS, is also providing updates. 

Later, 1:54 p.m. CT: this RC-135 -- River Joint -- is already unimportant to track but I'm curious where it lands. It is headed west, now over the English Channel, directly west of Norwich / Thetford / Bury St Edmunds. Jake-One-Two at 4,000 feet just west of RAF Mildenhall, 2:17 p.m.CT. Landed at RAF Mildenhall at 2:25 p.m. CT.

Later, 1:40 p.m. CT: another huge passenger plane has just departed RAF Brize Norton, see below. It's an Airbus. It's now over the English Channel. Again, link from a reader. The Airbus A400M:  

With the completion of this key milestone, the A400M excels in its paratrooping role, being able to carry 116 paratroopers who can jump two at a time from the ramp in freefall, or through the paratroop side doors with automatic parachute opening, a state-of-the-art capability that greatly increments its operational -- from 2002.

Note: RAF Upper Heyford, an important USAF base during the Cold War is about 30 miles northeast of Brize Norton. See below.

Original Post
Sunday February 13, 2022 -- 1:40 p.m. CT

It appears a USAF C-17, having taken off from a British air station some hours ago is about to land at Kiev. Link here.  Currently at 2,000', heading due south, directly east of Kiev. Interestingly, a commercial passenger plane, having originated in Hungary, is following the C-17 track, trailing back a few miles.

The C-17 took off from Brize Norton, UK:

RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire is the largest RAF Station with approximately 5,800 Service Personnel, 1,200 contractors and 300 civilian staff. 

The Station is home to the RAF's Strategic and Tactical Air Transport (AT) and Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) forces, as well as host to many lodger and reserve units. 

With its mixed fleet of aircraft, RAF Brize Norton provides rapid global mobility in support of UK overseas operations and exercises, as well as AAR support for fast jet aircraft both on operations and in support of UK Homeland Defence.

Later, 1:12 p.m. CT, the USAF C-17 has landed at Boryspil (Ukraine) International Airport. Likewise, that Hungarian a/c has also just landed at same airport, both within minutes of each other.

Now: another USAF C-17 headed toward Ukraine border over Poland appears to be making a 180° turn heading away from border. The C-17 is designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers and their equipment. 3,500 paratroopers / 102 per C-17 sortie = 35 sorties. The airdrops appears to have begun yesterday or the day before.

Meanwhile, Jake-One-Two, RC-135, Rivet Joint, is now returning home, over Germany, headed west, having completed several passes over the Ukraine earlier. Boryspil: eighteen miles east of Kiev; Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including all its intercontinental flights and a majority of international flights.