New U.S. Special Missions in Libya

Today, we tracked new, interesting movements by the U.S. towards Libya. Specifically, a USAF Lockheed MC-130J (reg. 16-5883 – c/s LION492) conducted a flight to Benghazi, departing from Tunis, before returning to Tunisia in the evening. It is important to note that this is not a standard C-130; the Lockheed MC-130 is the base designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC).

Meanwhile, a Beech C-12D Huron (reg. 83-0495 – c/s FENEC28) took off from Malta at 16:16 CEST, also heading to Benghazi. The aircraft later departed from the Cyrenaican capital towards Tripoli, landing around 19:30.

While the objectives of these missions remain unclear (it’s possible the MC-130J was providing support to the Beech), it’s hard to overlook the significant U.S. pressure to prevent Libya from descending into another civil war.