Today, at least 19 NATO and Swedish ISR aircraft flew sorties over Europe: USAF RQ-4s (2 FORTE12, FORTE11), RC-135W (JAKE12), RC-135U (HOMER39), U-2S (BLACK01); USN P-8As (4 PS23x, PS22x, PL23x); US Army RC-12X (YANK03), ARTEMIS (BRIO68); 1/9
RAF RC-135W (RRR7218); Greek EMB-134H (OURAN31); NATO RQ-4 (UAVGH000), E-3A (NATO02); Swedish S102B (SVF622). 2/9
Today's ISR sync matrix shows distinct overlap across multiple platforms, in multiple regions. We see the RQ-4 coverage is nearly uninterrupted, with only an hour gap. 3/9
As I'm sure all of you know, at the time of posting Russia has begun a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with explosions reported all over the country. I'm not sure what this will mean for the upcoming ISR sorties. 4/9
A map from @lemonodor provides locations of GPS disruption (for 3 or more aircraft), matched to the RC-135U flight path. 5/9
I don't really have much worth saying today. A lot has happened in a very short amount of time and I'm sure it's overwhelming a lot of people here, including myself. During Op Guardian of the Walls, I put together a list of resources for working through these sorts of events. 6/9
Today, at least 25 NATO and Swedish ISR aircraft flew sorties over Europe: USAF RQ-4s (FORTE11, 2 FORTE12), RC-135W (JAKE11), E-8C (REDEYE6), U-2S (BLACK01, BLACK02); USN P-8As (2 PS23x, 5 PS24x); US Army RC-12X (YANK03), ARTEMIS (BRIO68); 1/7
RAF RC-135W (RRR7216); German P-3C (no callsign); NATO E-3As (NATO01, NATO02, NATO09, NATO10), RQ-4 (UAVGH000); Swedish S102B (SVF622), S100D (C603). 2/7
Today's ISR matrix is.. busy, with strong coverage by ISR assets over the Black Sea (RQ-4s) and assets near Belarus (RC-135Ws, ARTEMIS, E-8C). 3/7
Today, at least 23 NATO, Swedish, & Ukrainian ISR aircraft flew sorties over Europe: USAF RC-135V (HOMER21), RC-135W (JAKE11), WC-135W (JAKE21), RQ-4 (FORTE12), U-2S (2 BLACK01); USN P-8As (PS21x, 2 PS22x, PL22x), EP-3E (no callsign); 1/8
US Army RC-12Xs (YANK01, YANK02, YANK03), ARTEMIS (BRIO68); RAF P-8As (RFR7041, STGRY01), RC-135W (RRR7215); Canadian CP140 (no callsign); Greek EMB-145H (OURAN31); NATO E-3A (NATO06); Swedish S102B (SVF622); Ukrainian TB2 (12345678). 2/8
ISR Sync matrix for 2022-02-22 covering all spotted flights up until the current time, with daylight represented as a light gray bar on each line. I tried a slight adjustment on the style, based on received feedback. 3/8
Today, at least 13 NATO ISR aircraft flew sorties over Europe: USN P-8As (4 PS21x, PS20x); USAF RQ-4 (FORTE11), E-8C (REDEYE6), RC-135U (HOMER19); US Army RC-12X (YANK01, YANK02), ARTEMIS (BRIO68); NATO RQ-4D (UAVGH000); German Navy P-3C (GNY4530). 1/5
Despite the P-8 activity in the Ionian Sea being regular these past few days, today was the first day I am including it due to recently hearing about Russian naval operations in the area.
Today, at least 8 US and Ukrainian ISR aircraft flew sorties over Europe: USAF RC-135W (JAKE12), RC-135V (HOMER71), WC-135W (JAKE21), RQ-4s (no callsign [possible FORTE12?], FORTE11); USN P-8A (PL20x); Ukrainian TB2 (12345688); NATO RQ-4D (UAVGH000) 1/8
Again we see an overall lighter day, with few P-8s in the eastern Med but with a P-8 observing the Gibraltar Strait. Two Rivet Joints providing coverage of the Belarus-Ukraine border and of Crimea, with 24-hour RQ-4 coverage of the same areas, this time with an added TB2. 2/8
Per @CSIS, the area focused on by the TB2 can be shown to be busy with Russian ground forces: 3/8
Today, at least 7 US ISR aircraft flew sorties over Europe: US Army RC-12X (YANK01, YANK02), ARTEMIS (BRIO68); USAF RQ-4 (FORTE10), RC-135W (JAKE11), RC-135U (HOMER69), E-8C (REDEYE6). 1/6
There was also an eighth aircraft, another USAF RQ-4 with bogus hex #000001. This aircraft is flying over Greece at the time of posting. 2/6
I covered FORTE10's flight in yesterday's map, but it is worth noticing the similarity in location of the RQ-4 with the E-8C and RC-135W. With the distance it is flying from Kyiv, it's possible that this adjustment could be in response to nearby IADS.
Earlier today, eight ISR aircraft from the US, UK and Sweden flew over the Baltics, Ukraine, & the North & Celtic Seas: USN P-8A (PK249); US Army ARTEMIS (BRIO68); USAF RQ-4 (FORTE12); USAF RC-135W (JAKE11) Swedish S102B & S100D (SVF623, C604); RAF P-8As (RFR7041, RFR7040). 1/6
This is the second RQ-4 flight to make this pattern in the last week, making use of the same airframe. There is a possibility that we will see the return of the daily RQ-4 flights over and around Ukraine. 2/6
All of the approximate unit locations reported by @konrad_muzyka are covered by the line-of-sight range of the RQ-4, giving us a better idea of what she's focusing on.