Details of various flights relating to the operation by the United States' government and its military forces to seize various oil tankers, especially those in support of the action in the North Atlantic on 7th January 2026 between Scotland and Iceland.
All information was obtained from publicly accessible sources.
Here, flights described as "dark" are those where all the aircraft's radio transmissions that might be used to identify and track the aircraft have been disabled.
The term "ops area" means "area of operations" and refers to the area around the tanker Bella 1 / Marinera.
Items shown in grey are not directly related to the North Atlantic action, but are part of the wider operation in the Caribbean. Under the itinerary, "Rafael Hernández" is an airport at Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
| type / role |
serial, ident mission |
active from | itinerary | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-40C covert pax |
21-0024, GENA17 | 2026‑01‑01 | ? | RAF Fairford | Probably transporting command / liaison personnel to brief and organise local units in preparation for the operation. Flights into and out of RAF Fairford were 'dark' |
| C-40C covert pax |
21-0024, AREA17 | 2026‑01‑02 | RAF Fairford | ? | |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
99-0169, RCH130 AAM6970Z1003 |
2026‑01‑03 | Charleston AFB | Pope AAF | NAS Oceana | RAF Fairford | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
09-9210, RCH155 PAM6974Z1003 |
2026‑01‑03 | McChord AFB | Campbell AAF | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | Bangor International | Charleston AFB | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
07-7175, RCH195 AAM6976Z1003 |
2026‑01‑03 | Dover AFB | Campbell AAF | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
08-8202, RCH199 PAM6977Z1003 |
2026‑01‑03 | McChord AFB | Campbell AAF | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
04-4132, RCH197 AAM6978Z1003 |
2026‑01‑03 | McGuire AFB | Hunter AAF | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | McGuire AFB | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
01-0191, RCH165 AAM6979Z1003 |
2026‑01‑03 | Dover AFB | Hunter AAF | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | Dover AFB | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
03-3126, RCH190 AAM6975Z1003 |
2026‑01‑04 | McGuire AFB | Campbell AAF | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | McGuire AFB | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
02-1111, RCH167 AAM6980Z1003 |
2026‑01‑04 | McChord AFB | Campbell AAF | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | Bangor International | McChord AFB | Transporting US Army special forces personnel / equipment to RAF Fairford |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
06-6160, RCH122 PDN031100004 |
2026‑01‑04 | Ramstein AB | RAF Fairford | Ramstein AB | Probably transporting USAF command and/or liaison personnel and their equipment. |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
02-1106, RCH144 PDN051100004 |
2026‑01‑04 | McChord AFB | Fairchild AFB | Dover AFB | RAF Fairford | Charleston AFB | Probably transporting USAF command and/or liaison personnel and their equipment. |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
06-6164, RCH185 PAM6965Z1004 |
2026‑01‑04 | Travis AFB | Cannon AFB | RAF Lakenheath | Charleston AFB | Transporting USAF special forces personnel / equipment. Original plan was to fly to RAF Mildenhall, but that base wasn't prepared for the hazardous cargo, so aircraft diverted to RAF Lakenheath |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
02-1110, RCH140 PAM6964Z1004 |
2026‑01‑04 | McChord AFB | Cannon AFB | RAF Lakenheath | Charleston AFB | Transporting USAF special forces personnel / equipment. Original plan was to fly to RAF Mildenhall, but diverted to RAF Lakenheath due to uncleared snow on ground |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
99-0169, RCH404 AAM6968Z1004 |
2026‑01‑04 | RAF Fairford | Rafael Hernández | Hunter AAF | Charleston AFB | Returning US Army special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
07-7186, RCH259 AAM6966Z1005 |
2026‑01‑04 | Charleston AFB | Rafael Hernández | Charleston AFB | Returning forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
04-4137, RCH458 AAM6967Z1005 |
2026‑01‑05 | Hurlbert Field | ? | Hunter AAF | McGuire AFB | Returning US Army special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area. Legs from Hurtlbert Field to Hunter AAF were 'dark' |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
07-7175, RCH258 AAM6969Z1005 |
2026‑01‑05 | Ramstein AB | Rafael Hernández | Hunter AAF | Lawson AAF | Dover AFB | Returning US Army special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| RC-135 recon |
ZZ664, RRR7206 |
2026‑01‑06 | RAF Waddington | ops area | RAF Waddington | RAF aircraft, probably gathering intelligence on signals from Russian naval vessels reported to be in the area around the tanker |
| C-146 spec ops |
10-3068, DADDY11 |
2026‑01‑06 | RAF Mildenhall | RAF Fairford | RAF Lossiemouth | RAF Mildenhall | Probably transporting personnel commanding operations or liaising between special forces and other services |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
08-8202, RCH200 PAM6981Z1005 |
2026‑01‑06 | Ramstein AB | Charleston AFB | Rafael Hernández | Pope AAF | Returning US Army special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
09-9210, RCH698 PAM6983Z1006 |
2026‑01‑06 | Charleston AFB | Rafael Hernández | Cannon AFB | McChord AFB | Returning USAF special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| CV-22 spec ops |
14-0072 |
2026‑01‑07 | RAF Fairford | Benbecula | RAF Fairford | Two CV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft deployed to Benbecula for the start of the seizure operation. The majority of the flight outbound from RAF Fairford was dark. It's not known if these aircraft subsequently flew on into the ops area. |
| CV-22 spec ops |
11-0058 |
2026‑01‑07 | RAF Fairford | Benbecula | RAF Fairford | |
| C-146 spec ops |
10-3068, DADDY11 |
2026‑01‑07 | RAF Mildenhall | RAF Lossiemouth | RAF Fairford | RAF Mildenhall | Probably transporting personnel commanding operations or liaising between special forces and other services |
| KC-135 air refuel |
60-0333, LAGR60 1PJ027U1U007 |
2026‑01‑07 | RAF Mildenhall | ops area | RAF Mildenhall | The three KC-135 tanker aircraft operated in sequence through daylight hours. Probably refuelling US Navy P-8A maritime patrol aircraft monitoring and co-ordinating the operation. |
| KC-135 air refuel |
60-0353, LAGR61 1PJ027U2U007 |
2026‑01‑07 | RAF Mildenhall | ops area | RAF Mildenhall | |
| KC-135 air refuel |
59-1464, LAGR62 1PJ027U3U007 |
2026‑01‑07 | RAF Mildenhall | ops area | RAF Mildenhall | |
| C-146 spec ops |
10-3068, DADDY11 |
2026‑01‑07 | RAF Mildenhall | Benbecula | RAF Mildenhall | Probably transporting personnel supporting deployment of CV-22s at Benbecula |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
03-3125, RCH127 PAM6985Z1006 |
2026‑01‑07 | McGuire AFB | Rafael Hernández | Campbell AAF | McGuire AFB | Returning US Army special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
02-1106, RCH697 PAM6982Z1007 |
2026‑01‑07 | Charleston AFB | Rafael Hernández | Palm Beach International | Cannon AFB | Returning USAF special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area. Original plan was to stop at MacDill AFB, but diverted to Palm Beach due to bad weather |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
06-6165, RCH305 AAM6984Z1007 |
2026‑01‑07 | Charleston AFB | NS Mayport | Pope AAF | Campbell AAF | Charleston AFB | Dover AFB | Returning USAF special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
06-6164, RCH228 PAM6987Z1007 |
2026‑01‑07 | Charleston AFB | Rafael Hernández | Cannon AFB | Travis AFB | Returning USAF special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-146 spec ops |
10-3068, DADDY11 |
2026‑01‑08 | RAF Mildenhall | Benbecula | RAF Mildenhall | Probably transporting personnel supporting deployment of CV-22s at Benbecula |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
08-8202, RCH283 PAM6989Z1008 |
2026‑01‑08 | Pope AAF | Rafael Hernández | Keesler AFB | Hurlbert Field | Charleston AFB | Returning USAF special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
98-0056, RCH298 JAM6991Z1008 |
2026‑01‑08 | Elmendorf AFB | Rafael Hernández | Hurlbert Field | Returning USAF special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
02-1110, RCH699 PAM6990Z1008 |
2026‑01‑08 | Charleston AFB | Rafael Hernández | Cannon AFB | McChord AFB | Returning USAF special forces personnel / equipment from operations in Caribbean area |
| C-146 spec ops |
10-3068, DADDY11 |
2026‑01‑09 | RAF Mildenhall | RAF Fairford | RAF Lossiemouth | RAF Mildenhall | Probably transporting personnel commanding operations or liaising between special forces and other services |
| C-17A heavy airlift |
07-7175, RCH535 AAM6986Z1009 |
2026‑01‑09 | Dover AFB | Rafael Hernández | Campbell AAF | NAS Oceana |
Flight data mainly from ADS-B Exchange.
Additional movement info from Fairford Movements and Mildenhall & Lakenheath Movements.
Mission info uses ACARS data from Airframes.