Anomalous American military transport aviation activity was spotted in Great Britain, with C-17A Globemaster IIIs beginning regular flights from January 3 to RAF Fairford airbase in southern England, north of Swindon.
Besides over 10 transport aircraft, two AC-130J Ghostrider flying batteriesand a CV-22 convertible also landed and remained there. At Mildenhall airbase in the country's east, P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft were positioned. Subsequently, a unique MH-47G Chinook, which equips only U.S. special operations forces, appeared in British skies on flight tracking services.
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Such anomalous activity attracted significant attention from Western specialized media, with authoritative Aviationist probably collecting the most complete information. According to it, without any doubt, this concerns transferring to British territory units of the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment with at minimum two MH-47G Chinooks and five MH-60M Black Hawks.
This is the same unit that just days ago carried out Venezuelan President Maduro's capture during Absolute Resolve Operation. Additionally, there are signs that besides this unit's forces, fighters from two more special purpose teams were transferred.
Specifically, one C-17 flew a complex route from U.S. NAS Oceana airbase to Pope airbase, then to British Fairford. The first base hosts U.S. Navy special unit SEAL Team 6, known for its fighters eliminating Osama bin Laden. The second hosts U.S. Special Operations Command and legendary 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. According to the publication, fighters from these units are also now positioned in Great Britain preparing for some operation.
Meanwhile, according to information received by American publication CBS, the Pentagon is now planning an operation to intercept sanctioned tanker Bella 1. As a reminder, on December 21, U.S. Coast Guard attempted to intercept this vessel, but it raised russian flag and on December 30 renamed itself Marinera and is now in the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Combining information about special operators' deployment, including Navy specialists, together with transferring additional patrol aircraft, Aviationist concluded the U.S. is preparing Marinera (Bella 1) capture.
But Defense Expresscan note that the assignment of forces for capturing a tanker, even if it has armed security, appears somewhat excessive with such forces. Therefore, not excluding this tanker could become a target, a cautious assumption can be made that the goal is either a whole series of actions against shadow tankers, or this tanker under russian flag is transporting something entirely other than oil. Ultimately, it's not excluded that this concerns an entirely different sphere of action.
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