Slashdot: A US Spy Plane Has Been Flying Circles Over Seattle For Days

A US Spy Plane Has Been Flying Circles Over Seattle For Days
Published on August 06, 2017 at 07:49PM
turkeydance shares Thursday’s report from The Drive:
A very unique U.S. Air Force surveillance aircraft has been flying highly defined circles over Seattle and its various suburbs for nine days now… The aircraft, which goes by the callsign “SPUD21” and wears a nondescript flat gray paint job with the only visible markings being a U.S. Air Force serial on its tail, is a CASA CN-235-300 transport aircraft that has been extensively modified… It is covered in a dizzying array of blisters, protrusions, humps and bumps. These include missile approach warning detectors and large fairings on its empennage for buckets of forward-firing decoy flares, as well as both microwave — the dome antenna behind the wing and flat antenna modification in front of the wing — and ultra high-frequency satellite communications — the platter-like antenna behind the dome antenna. A communications intelligence suite also appears to be installed on the aircraft, with the antenna farm on the bottom of its fuselage being a clear indication of such a capability. But what’s most interesting is the aircraft’s apparent visual intelligence gathering installation…
This particular CN-235, with the serial 96-6042, is one of six that researchers commonly associated with the Air Force’s top secret 427th Special Operations Squadron… The 427th occupies the same space with a host of other “black” U.S. military aviation elements, most of which are affiliated to some degree with Joint Special Operations Command and the Intelligence Community… [I]f the military placed the aircraft under civilian control to some degree and with an appropriate legal justification, the U.S. military could possibly fly it in support of a domestic operation or one focused on a foreign suspect or organization operating within the United States… It’s also entirely possible, if not probable, that the aircraft could be involved in a realistic training exercise rather than an actual operation… The area could have simply provided a suitable urban area to test existing or new surveillance technologies, too, though this could spark serious privacy concerns if true.
Friday an Air Force Special Operations Command public affairs officer confirmed that the plane was one of theirs, describing its activity as “just a training mission,” according to Russia Today.