US Navy Surveillance Flights Operate Near Cuba

Flight-tracking data shows at least five US Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft and three MQ-4C Triton drones have operated in the Caribbean near Cuba since 11 May. Some aircraft flew as close as 50 miles from the island. The US military has been publicly broadcasting the location of these surveillance flights on plane-tracking websites.

UK drone expert Dr Steve Wright said leaving flight transponders on is likely deliberate and intended to send a clear message.

Verify analysis of data from Flightradar24 shows the P-8A Poseidon aircraft flew routes including one on 11 May that reached within 50 miles of southern Cuba. The aircraft continued operations the next day north of Havana before returning to its base in Jacksonville, Florida.

On 15 May, two MQ-4C Triton drones operated off the coast of southern Cuba along routes similar to those flown by the Poseidon aircraft. Flight-tracking data cannot give a complete picture of US activity because military aircraft do not always broadcast their positions.

The deployment comes after Washington imposed an effective oil blockade on Cuba. Cuba's foreign minister said the country neither threatens nor desires war and accused Washington of building a fraudulent case for military intervention. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a new relationship with the Cuban people on Wednesday.

Speaking in Spanish on the anniversary of Cuba's independence, Rubio blamed the island's hardships on its communist leadership. Retired US Marine Corps colonel Mark Cancian said the recurrent flight paths indicate an intention to spot ship arrivals from the south and north.

He added that none of the flights are over land. Drone expert Steve Wright said the drone surveillance flights are most likely part of a US agenda to deter attempts by Venezuela to breach the oil blockade and ship fuel into Cuba. Analysts from defence intelligence firm Janes said there had been a general increase in US intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sorties since February.