, 8 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
There are so many things wrong with what the #USAF is doing here, that are very much not evident to the casual observer.

1) The RC-135 has changed its unique transponder number to 730000 (hex), an Iranian assigned code. So, the USAF is impersonating an Iranian plane.
2) As @GDarkconrad pointed out, this isn't an accident, the USAF did this with Venezuelan codes off the coast of #Venezuela too. US reconnaissance planes are impersonating the codes of the countries they are conducting reconaissance on, endangering future civilian flights.
3) I'm waiting for someone to tell me it's for #OPSEC. Clearly that doesn't work, as Spanish and Canadian citizens have called them out while we're still in out PJs. The Iranians see them plain as day, they're only hiding their activities from the American (and world) public.
4) Tragic irony; on July 3rd 1988 the #USSVincennes #CG49 shot down Iran Air Flight #IR655. The #disinformation that followed fed the U.S. electorate the narrative that the plane was using a transponder of an Iranian Air Force jet.
Nope, the official investigation debunked that.
4) "...but it's a super-secret reconnaissance operation!"

The UK, US, and a host of Baltic countries do reconnaissance near Kaliningrad daily. They frequently/always have their transponder on, and correctly display who/what they are.

Proof? 4hrs ago:
Why do they do that? So they clearly communicate their intentions to the Russian armed forces, and don't get shot down. It's normal, and non-threatening.

Disguising planes and turning off transponders does not communicate intentions clearly to Iran, unless that intention is war.
Holy crap. I totally missed the correlation. Wow!

Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Steffan Watkins
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!