U.S. Navy, Air Force Step Up 25 Surveillance Flights Near Cuba as Caribbean Buildup Looms
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 13
U.S. Navy, Air Force Step Up 25 Surveillance Flights Near Cuba as Caribbean Buildup Looms
4 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 13
At least 25 U.S. Navy and Air Force surveillance flights have operated near Cuba since early February, with activity rising in recent weeks around Havana and Santiago de Cuba.
P-8 patrol aircraft, RC-135 electronic-surveillance planes, MQ-4 drones and other drones were used in a campaign U.S. officials said is meant to signal to Cuban authorities that Washington is watching.
Officials said the flights are part of a broader military buildup expected in the Caribbean in coming weeks, though the full scale is unclear because public tracking data often misses intelligence-agency drones.
The increase has been visible publicly for weeks through flight-tracking sites and social media posts from aviation enthusiasts, underscoring the operation's deliberately noticeable character.
With U.S. spy planes circling Cuba, is the Caribbean on the brink of a new military conflict?
How are AI-powered drones changing the decades-long intelligence game between the United States and Cuba?
Can Cuba's government survive this unprecedented U.S. pressure campaign, or is a collapse now imminent?