USAF RC-135V Conducts SIGINT Mission Over the Western Black Sea

This afternoon, a United States Air Force Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint (registration 64-14841, callsign JAKE17) carried out an intelligence-gathering mission over the western Black Sea, operating in international airspace off the coast of Crimea.

The aircraft departed from RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom and flew through Romanian airspace before beginning a series of long orbits over the sea, east of Constanța, Romania. The mission took place in a highly strategic area, ideal for intercepting communications and radar emissions from both the Crimean Peninsula and the southern Russian coastline.

The RC-135V Rivet Joint is one of the USAF’s premier signals intelligence (SIGINT/ELINT) platforms, capable of collecting, identifying, and analyzing a wide range of electronic transmissions, including military radio communications, radar signals, and other emissions. Its presence in the region underscores NATO’s and the United States’ continued interest in monitoring military activity in the Black Sea, especially in light of ongoing tensions and Russian naval movements.