Since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis in early 2021, the United States has deployed a number of military aircraft in the region. As tensions escalated, the US sent even more aircraft to reinforce those already present in Europe, permanently based at air bases on the continent.
Through tracking applications, it is possible to follow the trajectory of most of the aircraft. The ones that appear the most on sites like Flightradar24 are the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) forces, responsible for conducting observation missions and data collection in the tense region. Washington also has fighters and bombers in Europe.
F-15C/D Eagle
The F-15 Eagle is a veteran aircraft, but one of the most powerful in the US Air Force's inventory. It is the only fighter in the world to have more than 100 aerial combat victories without ever being shot down by another aircraft in actual combat.
The Eagle is a long-range twin-engine fighter whose mission is to ensure air superiority. Therefore, it is only equipped with air-to-air missiles and its internal 20mm cannon. The model has been present in Europe since the 1970s, but today only one squadron operates the Legacy Eagle in the Old Continent.
The 493rd Fighter Squadron Grim Reapers is the last F-15C/D unit in Europe, and is based at RAF Lakenheath Air Base in the United Kingdom. Despite being in Queenland, Lakenheath is home to only US units, including three more fighter squadrons.
With the crisis in Ukraine, 16 fighters from the Grim Reapers squadron were sent to Lask air base in Poland, where they ed other NATO aircraft. The Grim Reapers' F-15C/D deployed to eastern Europe fully armed, carrying two short-range AIM-9X missiles and six medium-range AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles.
F-15E Strike Eagle
While the Legacy Eagles are dedicated to air superiority missions, the F-15E Strike Eagle are multi-mission fighter-bombers. The F-15E has the same performance as the F-15C, but carries up to 10.4 tons of air-to-air missiles, guided bombs, air-to-ground missiles and even nuclear warheads, while the previous model uses only air-to-air missiles.
The F-15E is one of the main fighters of the USAF and in Europe it is also based at Lakenheath base, where it is operated by the 492nd and 494th Fighter Squadron. Like the Grim Reapers, the F-15E squadrons are also subordinate to the 48th Fighter Wing, called the Freedom Wing.
In addition to the units already present in Europe, the USAF deployed 15 F-15E fighters from the US 336th Fighter Squadron to the UK in January. Of these, six planes were deployed to Ämari air base, Estonia, to reinforce NATO's Enhanced Air Policing (EAP).
B-52H Stratofortress
Despite not being permanently based in Europe, the presence of the B-52 on the continent is common. However, it draws more attention when Russia is about to invade Ukraine.
On 10/02, four B-52H bombers arrived at British base RAF Fairford for a Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission. The planes belong to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, in North Dakota (USA), and crossed the Atlantic Ocean with from KC-135 and KC-46 tank planes.
Despite the movement of the aircraft taking place at one of the heights of tension caused by Moscow, the US Air Forces in Europe and Africa (USAFE) say that the deployment of the B-52s by BTF 22-2 had already been scheduled for a long time.
Since arriving, the B-52s have flown at least two nearly 24-hour missions from Fairford to the Middle East. On shorter flights, the B-52s integrated with the air forces of other nations, with one of the aircraft landing in the Czech Republic.
RQ-4 Global Hawk
One of the aircraft that has most attracted the attention of those who observe the movement of planes through tracking applications is an American drone. That's because this specific model spends more than 30 hours in the air.
Under the callsigns FORTE10, 12 and 14, USAF RQ-4 Global Hawks spend more than an entire day surveilling Russian troop movements and communications on the Ukrainian border.
The unmanned aircraft takes off from the Sigonella NATO base, in Sicily, and heads towards Eastern Europe, where it flies for hours on end, while being accompanied by onlookers, enthusiasts and OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) channels.
The Italian base is also home to NATO RQ-4D Phoenix drones. It is believed that these may also be carrying out reconnaissance missions in Ukraine, however, they do not appear in any tracking applications. Learn more about the RQ-4 and its capabilities by clicking here.
RC-135 Rivet t and Combat Sent
Another veteran aircraft, but of great importance to the United States. The RC-135V/W Rivet t and RC-135U Combat Sent are based on the C-135 Stratolifter platform, a military version of the Boeing Dash 80 that gave rise to the commercial 707.
Despite their age, USAF RC-135s (and RAF RC-135Ws) carry advanced sensors to fulfill Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) missions. The RC-135V/W Rivet t s theater and national level commands with near real-time intelligence collection, analysis and distribution capabilities.
The RC-135U Combat Sent collects and delivers strategic electronic reconnaissance information to the president, secretary of defense, Department of Defense leaders and theater commanders. Locating and identifying foreign military ground, naval and airborne radar signals, the Combat Sent collects and scrutinizes each system, providing strategic analysis for warfighters.
US aircraft take off from Greece. The RC-135 already operated with a certain frequency over the Black Sea, including being intercepted by Russian fighters. However, the threat of invasion of Ukraine by Russia brought an increase in flights of these planes.
F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
The F-16 is the most used fighter in the world and the model most present in Europe, both by US forces and by the operating nations on the continent. USAFE has F-16C/D fighters at two European bases: Aviano in Italy and Spangdahlem in western .
Aviano's aircraft are operated by the 510th and 555th Fighter Squadron, both subordinate to the 31st Fighter Wing. During the recent spikes in tension, two fighters from the 555th took off on a patrol over Romania, armed with AMRAAM and Sidewinder missiles. The multi-mission fighters received in-flight refueling from a KC-10 Extender.
Fighters based at Spangdahlem are operated by the 480th Fighter Squadron, subordinate to the 52nd Fighter Wing. About eight F-16C/Ds from this squadron were sent to Fetesti Air Base, also in Romania.
According to USAFE, the planes were sent "to enhance NATO's collective defense posture and NATO's air policing mission by ing the Italian fighter jets already deployed in Romania." Spangdahlem's F-16s are operating alongside Italian Air Force Typhoon fighters.
F-35 Lightning II
The F-35 is also in Europe by the USAF and USAFE, in addition to the countries that operate the model. The F-35A will be permanently based in Lakenheath, where it will be operated by the 495th Fighter Squadron, which already received its first fighters in late 2021.
As tensions escalated, the USAF sent 12 more stealth fighters of the 34th Fighter Squadron, based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The planes took off on the night of the 15th and landed in Europe the next day.
The aircraft are deployed in Spangdahlem to "strengthen readiness, improve NATO's collective defense posture, and further enhance air integration capabilities with allied and partner nations." The deployment of the fighter jets – the most advanced by the US in Europe – was coordinated with the German government.
Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
The nuclear aircraft carrier Harry Truman is operating in the Mediterranean Sea under NATO command, where it carried out integration operations with the aircraft carriers Cavour of the Italian Navy and Charles de Gaulle of the French Navy.
The Nimitz-class vessel can accommodate 90 aircraft and is carrying F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets, EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft, MH- 60R/S Seahawk and C-2A Greyhounds transport planes. The complete group forms Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1).
About four Super Hornets landed in Aviano and then went to the Fetesti air base, where they remain to reinforce the NATO EAP in the region, together with the Italian Typhoons and USAFE F-16s.
P-8 Poseidon
Based on the Boeing 737, the P-8A Poseidon is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare jet, but it has sensors that allow it to carry out reconnaissance and intelligence missions, which is frequently done in regions of interest.
US Navy P-8s operate mainly from Sigonella (which also hosts a Navy Air Station) and have performed a number of flights in the Mediterranean, following the movement of the Russian fleet and providing to NATO allies. There were also some flights across the Black Sea.
On 16/02, the Pentagon claimed that at least three P-8s were intercepted by Russian fighters in an unsafe way in the Mediterranean. Although interceptions and encounters between Russian and Western aircraft occur regularly (mainly in the Baltic Sea), it is not common for them to be performed in an unsafe manner. Most interactions are considered standard and professional by the US. Flights in this way only increase the sensitivity of the tense situation in Europe.
"While no one was hurt, interactions like these can result in miscalculations and errors that lead to more dangerous outcomes," US Navy Captain Mike Kafka, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, said in a statement. Russia has not commented on the events.
E-8 JSTARS
Another strategic USAF platform present in Europe, the E-8C t Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (just called JSTARS or t STARS) is a flying command post. The aircraft is based on the old 707 and acts as a command, control and battle management centre.
At least one E-8C was deployed at Ramstein Air Base in . From there, the USAF jet has carried out a series of flights in Ukraine and the Black Sea, crossing data obtained by other ISR platforms and ing it on to the command centers.
With Northrop Grumman's AN/APY-7 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the E-8 performs aerial terrain surveillance missions, capable of covering an area in excess of 250 km. The side view radar has a 7.3 meter long movable antenna and can operate in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) and Fixed Target Indicator (FTI) target classification modes.
Constant surveillance in Ukraine
So far, the most present and active aircraft in Ukraine and surroundings are the ISR. With their powerful sensors and antennas, these planes fly for hours collecting and processing data, images and signals that will be ed along the chain of command.
In this way, NATO and the US keep watch over Russia's troops stationed on the Ukrainian border and in Belarus. With the recent actions of Vladimir Putin, it is likely that the battalions will enter the territory of Ukraine after the recognition of the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, two pro-Russian breakaway regions within the territory of Ukraine.
