U.S. Increases Surveillance Flights Near Cuba

The United States has increased its military and intelligence surveillance flights near Cuba. U.S. air and naval forces conducted at least 26 flights within 80 miles of the island nation from Feb. 4 to May 12, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Flightradar24 data.

Most of the flights came within 40 miles of Cuban shores with paths consistent with surveillance missions. The activity has been concentrated near Havana, the capital, and Santiago de Cuba, the country's second-largest city.

Flight paths tracked by Flightradar24 show a different pattern in 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. This year's flights encircle the country and include loitering patterns, while last year's appeared to simply pass by, Ian Petchenik of Flightradar24 told USA TODAY.

The surveillance flights are also higher profile because they have been trackable by public sites. They have operated closer to Cuba, at distances that allow for certain types of intelligence gathering, especially electronic signals. A variety of aircraft and drones have been used during the same time period.

Most of the flights were conducted by the P-8A Poseidon, a multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft used by the U.S. Navy for long-range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare and intelligence gathering. The RC-135V Rivet Joint, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft used for analyzing electromagnetic signals, has also been deployed.

The MQ-4C Triton, a high-altitude uncrewed U.S. Navy reconnaissance drone capable of operating above 50,000 feet for 24 hours, participated in the missions. The E-3 Sentry, a modified Boeing 707/320 aircraft with a rotating radar dome used by the Air Force as an airborne warning and control system, was part of the operations.

Some military or law-enforcement flights can legally disable their ADS-B Out transponders, which prevents them from appearing on civilian flight-tracking sites. The exact total number of flights is therefore not known, though they may still be detected by other devices including Mode S, MLAT or radar.

The surveillance activity follows news that the United States is moving to indict former Cuban president Raúl Castro over an incident in which two planes on humanitarian flights were shot down by the Cuban government in 1996. Some U.S. officials continue to press for criminal accountability three decades later.