Two RAAF E-3 Wedgetails out of Nellis AFB, Nevada (πΊπΈ). 'THDR01' is currently flying around the Nevada Security sites while 'ASY253' seems to be returning to Australia (π¦πΊ).
Former US Marine Trevor Reed has been exchanged for Konstantin Yaroshenko.
The Russian pilot is serving a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the US after his arrest in 2010. Reed was recently sentenced to 9 years in prison for assaulting a officer in Moscow.
It looks like the prisoner exchange happened in Ankara, #Turkey (πΉπ·) earlier today.
Some possibilities on what they are doing:
- flight school with an ill chosen flight route
- mapping the border area / aerial survey
- monitoring the border (ISR)
Seven aircraft is quite a lot for aerial survey or ISR, but it would be a weird place for a flight school route. π€·πΌββοΈ
The two aircraft likely monitored the first test of #Russiaβs (π·πΊ) RS-28 Sarmat ICBM.
Itβs quite rare to see two Cobra Ball aircraft working together, so I think the United States (πΊπΈ) really wanted to get a lot of data on the missile.
Thanks to @spook_info for pointing this (the missile test) out!