Back Over the Med: USAF WC-135R Constant Phoenix Tracked South of Sardinia

At this moment (12:30 CEST) we are tracking a USAF Boeing WC-135R Constant Phoenix (reg. 64-14829 – c/s JAKE27) flying at low altitude south of Sardinia.

The WC-135, known as Constant Phoenix, is a highly specialized U.S. Air Force aircraft equipped to collect and analyze atmospheric samples for nuclear particles. Its primary missions include detecting nuclear detonations, monitoring compliance with arms control treaties, and investigating nuclear incidents by measuring airborne radioactive contamination.

This WC-135R arrived at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom from the United States on July 30. On August 11 we tracked it performing a similar mission over the central Mediterranean. It was later deployed to the Gulf, where it operated off the Iranian coast, before returning to the UK. From there, on August 25, it carried out a mission over the Baltic Sea off Kaliningrad.

The stretch of sea the aircraft is currently flying over is crossed by dozens of cargo ships, and it cannot be ruled out that today’s mission is aimed at monitoring the possible presence of radioactive material on one of them.

There are several hypotheses about the purpose of these flights, but so far no official statement has been released.