Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Steffan Watkins  Profile picture
@steffanwatkins
Jan 18, 2022 • 12 tweets • 18 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
🇬🇧 Let's review all the excruciating minutiae of the Royal Air Force's flights to Ukraine 🇺🇦, and potentially imports of more lethal aid from the United States 🇺🇸 to the United Kingdom.
Follow me down the rabbit hole. 🧵
(very long 🧵, will take breaks)
First, I take an inventory of the 8 RAF C-17s and where they've flown in the past couple of weeks. It takes at least days to organize a shipment like this.

We know the following aircraft have delivered lethal weapons to Ukraine; let's work back from that
#ZZ171
#ZZ173
#ZZ178
🇬🇧 Royal Air Force Boeing C-17A #ZZ171 was in the Caribbean from 2022-01-11 to 2022-01-15 as #RRR6640 and #RRR6641, and I don't think that trip was related to Ukraine. Interestingly they stopped in Portsmouth #PSM on the way home on 2022-01-13.
globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c171&l…
#43C171
🇬🇧 On 2022-01-18 #RAF C-17A #ZZ171 flew from Brize Norton #BZZ to Kyiv #KBP as #RRR6892, and returned as #RRR6893 (No longer RRR66xx, a RRR68xx formatted callsign)

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c171&l…
#43C171
🇬🇧 Royal Air Force C-17A #ZZ173 #43C173 on 2022-01-05 departed as #RRR6672 from Brize Norton #BZZ to Portsmouth #PSM to Fort Worth #FTW to Victorville #VCV to Portsmouth to Brize Norton 2022-01-08, returning as #RRR6673.
globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43C173&s…
🇬🇧 On 2022-01-17 #RAF C-17A #ZZ173 flew from Brize Norton #BZZ to Kyiv #KBP as #RFR6888 👀, and returned to Lossiemouth #LMO as #RRR6889.

NB: RFR/RRR68xx format for the Kyiv leg

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43C173&s…
#43C173
#ZZ171 ✅
#ZZ173 ✅
#ZZ178
🇬🇧 #RAF C-17A #ZZ178:
Their last trip before working on the Ukraine route, was 2022-01-10 Brize Norton #BZZ to Calgary #YYC to #NellisAFB to Calgary as #RRR6684, switched to #RRR6685 and flew to Portsmouth #PSM to Brize Norton 2022-01-13.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43C208&s…
#43C208
🇬🇧 #RAF C-17A #ZZ178:
2022-01-17 they flew Brize Norton #BZZ to Kyiv #KBP as #RRR6886, return trip #RRR6887

2022-01-18 they flew Brize Norton to Kyiv as #RRR6890, return #RRR6891.

2022-01-18 #2 they flew #RRR6894 to Kyiv (presume return #RRR6895)
globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43C208&s…
#43C208
Were RRR66xx flights to 🇨🇦 and 🇺🇸 related, or just bringing back/dropping-off gear to/from exercises overseas?

Are the stops in Portsmouth indicative of fuelling up before crossing the pond, or picking up more aid for Ukraine?

I can't tell, so I included them for context.
If you hadn't seen the video of one of the shipments arriving:

• • •

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

Keep Current with Steffan Watkins 

Steffan Watkins  Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @steffanwatkins

Steffan Watkins  Profile picture
Jun 17
🇨🇦⚓️ Since the Royal Canadian Navy refuse to take pictures or publicise the RCN's operation tailing the Russian Navy since June 1, once again the Americans will do the work for us. Thanks DVIDS! You keep Canadians better informed than our PAOs. 🧵
📸 Taken June 9, Published June 14

ATLANTIC OCEAN (June 09, 2024) Canadian Navy Cmdr. Peter McNeil, commanding officer of the Canadian Halifax-class frigate #HMCSVilledeQuébec (FFH 332), and U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Johnathan Carter, commanding officer of the Legend-class cutter U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone (WMSL 758), identify a Russian naval vessel from Stone’s bridgewing in the Western Atlantic June 9, 2024. U.S. maritime forces, in conjunction with allies and partners, consistently monitor the activity of foreign vessels operating within the U.S. Second Fleet area of operations in support of homeland defense. The U.S. Navy protects international law and safeguards freedom of navigation for all nations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ens. Alana Kickhoefer/Released)Image
📸 Taken June 6, Published June 14

ATLANTIC OCEAN (June 06, 2024) The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) identifies a Russian naval vessel in the U.S. Second Fleet area of operations June 6, 2024. U.S. maritime forces, in conjunction with allies and partners, consistently monitor the activity of foreign vessels operating within the U.S. Second Fleet area of operations in support of homeland defense. The U.S. Navy protects international law and safeguards freedom of navigation for all nations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ens. Alana Kickhoefer/Released)Image
Read 12 tweets
Steffan Watkins  Profile picture
Jun 10
🇷🇺 On May 17 the Russian MoD announced a flotilla of Russian Navy Northern Fleet ships departed Severomorsk for a long out of area deployment. Within a week, they had published a high quality video of Frigate Admiral Gorshkov performing exercises in the Atlantic. #ВМФ #СФ
The four vessels in the flotilla are:

Project 22350 Frigate Admiral Gorshkov, commissioned July 26, 2018

russianships.info/eng/warships/p…
Project 885M Yasen-M class SSGN Kazan (K-561), commissioned May 7, 2021

russianships.info/eng/submarines…
Read 22 tweets
Steffan Watkins  Profile picture
Mar 13
🇨🇦🇮🇱 About an hour ago #RCAF CC-130J Hercules 130603 #C2B53F fell victim to Israeli GNSS/GPS spoofing & jamming. 130603's transponder ceased transmitting accurate position data, then stopped transmitting position data at all.
globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b53f&l…
Image
It is unclear if flight #CFC2503 is air-dropping relief to Gaza, or transiting near #Israel.

It is clear that Israel is not pausing their months long electronic warfare attack on all civilian and military aviation in line of sight, and the media doesn't want to mention it.
(link showing documented GPS jamming will only work after March 13, ie, March 14+) h/t @lemonodor

gpsjam.org/?lat=32.82722&…
Read 4 tweets
Steffan Watkins  Profile picture
Jan 26
🇨🇦⚓ Royal Canadian Navy Harry DeWolf-class arctic and offshore patrol vessel HMCS Margaret Brooke departed Halifax on January 12 for a six week #OpCARIBBE deployment. 🧵

#AOPV431 IMO:4702515 MMSI:316014540
call sign:CGMB #HMCSMargaretBrooke
marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details…
January 12
January 12
Read 11 tweets
Steffan Watkins  Profile picture
Aug 11, 2023
🇨🇦⚓️ Where #HMCSMontréal has been since March 26, when they departed Halifax on #OpPROJECTION, using @MarineTraffic AIS-T and AIS-S data. 🧵

This thread serves as a guide, to you the reader, of what to look for in Royal Canadian Navy communications; it's your crackerjack box secret decoder ring when they're vague.

All of this information has been broadcast by the ship's AIS transponder over the airwaves, picked up with every SIGINT satellite in orbit, military and commercial, every plane in line-of-sight(LOS), collected by every significant adversary, and included in a dossier with other intelligence, that was reported up their chain of command, before I woke up this morning.

Our military and government public affairs officials can, without compromising national security, speak plainly and include everything up to (at least) this level of information, because every adversary already knows; they told them. They got the memo.

This is also the minimum amount of detail that the public should expect in any media story about HMCS Montréal's deployment; all this information is at journalists' fingertips too. Public affairs should be more forthright to make journalists' lives easier. This information isn't a secret to the outside world.

All times in UTC, unless otherwise mentioned.
🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class multi-role patrol frigate #HMCSMontréal's first port of call was Lisbon for 4 days from April 4 to April 8.

Fighting erupted in Sudan on April 15. #OpPROJECTION

🇨🇦⚓️ #HMCSMontréal arrived at the Port Said anchorage on April 17, traversed the Suez Canal into the Red Sea on April 18, then stopped transmitting AIS from April 19 until they arrived in Salalah, Oman on May 8. #OpPROJECTION

Read 54 tweets
Steffan Watkins  Profile picture
May 24, 2023
🇬🇧 41% (9) of the RAF A400M Atlas fleet of 22 do not fly. Of the remaining 59% (13) that do fly, some of them are deployable, and some are homebodies doing training and certification. #ZM406 returned from the Airbus depot in Getafe, Spain 🇪🇸. Image
🇬🇧 RAF C-130J Hercules #ZH869 #43C198 was sent to Cambridge 🇬🇧 to be decommissioned, bringing the number of Hercs remaining to 5, all of which are flying regularly, except #ZH870 #43C04C hasn't flown in a week.. maybe they're next? 🪦
+ No coverage of the Herc flight to Benghazi. Image
🇬🇧 Only RAF C-17 Globemaster (#ZZ172 #43C172) hasn't flown for over a month; it's probably undergoing indepth maintenance. 88% of the fleet is regularly in the air. Image
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

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

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

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

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(