U.S. Increases Surveillance Flights Near Cuba

U.S. military and intelligence agencies have increased surveillance flights around and near Cuba in recent weeks, several U.S. officials said. The effort forms part of a publicly visible campaign aimed at sending Cuban authorities a message that operations are monitoring activity in the country.

Navy and Air Force surveillance planes and drones have stepped up reconnaissance flights. This activity is expected to be part of a larger overall military buildup in the Caribbean in the coming weeks, two of the U.S. officials said. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

Aviation enthusiasts have shared social media posts for weeks about reconnaissance planes spotted on public tracking websites approaching Cuban shores. Flights by the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, the RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic-eavesdropping plane, the MQ-4 high-altitude reconnaissance drone and other drones have increased in frequency since February, often near Cuba’s coast, a U.S. military official said.

CNN reported the increase in intelligence flights after analyzing publicly available FlightRadar 24 data. The network found that the Navy and Air Force had conducted at least 25 such flights using manned aircraft and drones since early February. Most flights took place near Cuba’s two largest cities, Havana and Santiago de Cuba in the southeastern part of the country.

Flight tracking data typically does not pick up spy agency drones, so the actual number of flights remains unknown. Officials have described the flights, which the United States is not taking pains to hide, as part of an effort to convey that operations are closely watching developments.