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yesterday

U.S. Heavy Airlift and Gunships Concentrate at UK Bases After Venezuela Operation

Open-source tracking points to a rapid airlift into UK airfields, with officials declining to explain the mission.

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Left: MH-47G Chinook from the 160th SOAR (Image credit: U.S. Navy). Right: Panama-flagged tanker Centuries which was stopped and seized by U.S. forces in the Caribbean. (Image credit: Department of Homeland Security via Reuters). Composite illustration by The Aviationist.
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A C-17 Globemaster arrives in Suffolk

Overview

  • Flight-tracking, photos and local sightings show roughly ten C-17 movements plus at least two AC-130J arrivals at RAF Fairford, Mildenhall and Lakenheath in recent days.
  • Several flights originated from Georgia and Kentucky bases tied to U.S. special-operations aviation, with unconfirmed reports of Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters in UK hangars.
  • The build-up followed the U.S. raid that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, prompting speculation about follow-on missions or a possible tanker interdiction, which officials have not confirmed.
  • The UK Ministry of Defence declined to comment on other nations’ operations, and analysts describe the activity as contingency posture rather than a scheduled exercise.
  • Additional movements include a KC-135 tanker into Mildenhall and C-17 hops toward Ramstein in Germany, reinforcing the picture of a flexible staging network.