Thread by @steffanwatkins

🇬🇧 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:

https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1483511225455681538?t=zbdjmJKItkuuARm16-spdw&s=19