A US Air Force RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft was spotted flying over several US states on Tuesday, including regions home to America’s land-based nuclear missile force.
The Cobra Ball is a highly specialized intelligence aircraft designed to collect measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) on ballistic missiles, using advanced optical and electronic sensors to track launches and re-entry phases.
The aircraft supports arms control treaty verification, missile defense analysis and threat assessment.
Flight tracking data showed the jet departing Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, at about 9:05am ET, before heading north through the Dakotas.
The aircraft made several looping passes near Carrington, North Dakota, a region surrounded by active missile facilities, before continuing westward.
North Dakota is home to roughly 150 active Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile silos, overseen by Minot Air Force Base.
South Dakota, while no longer hosting operational missiles, once housed about 150 Minuteman II silos during the Cold War, which were decommissioned and dismantled by the early 1990s, though some underground control facilities remain.
The US currently maintains about 400 silo-based Minuteman III missiles across North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, forming the land-based leg of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
Officials have not confirmed the reason for the flight, but the flight most likely reflects routine training, calibration or missile-defense support operations, which the Air Force conducts regularly to maintain strategic readiness.
Flight tracking data showed the jet departing Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, at about 9:05am ET, before heading north through the Dakotas.
FlightRadar24 first showed the Cobra Ball leaving Offutt Air Force Base, where the craft is primarily housed under the control of the 55th Wing and 45th Reconnaissance Squadron.
It is still circling Carrington, which hosts Minuteman II missiles and Space Force assets, including a radar facility.
A Minuteman II missile was an upgraded US intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with better range, speed, and targeting, featuring an advanced guidance system and a powerful warhead.
The US Air Force operates only three Cobra Ball jets, which are equipped with a sophisticated array of optical and electronic sensors, recording media, and communications equipment.
The Cobra Ball routinely flies long-duration missions over the U.S. and overseas for training, sensor calibration, and support of missile tests.
Its crews undergo intensive, specialized training to operate the sophisticated sensors and accurately interpret missile data, making it a critical part of the nation’s strategic intelligence and nuclear deterrent infrastructure.
The craft can fit a minimum of two pilots, one navigator, three electronic warfare officers, two airborne systems engineers and two or more airborne mission specialists.
The flight, while likely a training exercise, comes hours after Iran warned that it is ‘ready for war’ after US President Donald Trump threatened to ‘hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before’ as anti-government protests enter a third week.
The Cobra Ball is a highly specialized intelligence aircraft designed to collect measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) on ballistic missiles, using advanced optical and electronic sensors to track launches and re-entry phases (STOCK)
It comes as the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) said nearly 500 protesters and 48 security personnel in Iran had died amid the Islamic Republic’s bloody crackdown targeting demonstrators.
‘It’s like a warzone, the streets are full of blood,’ an Iranian told BBC Radio 4’s Today Program.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump threatened to intervene, saying: ‘The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options.’
Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: ‘If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hit back at the comments, saying: ‘We are ready for war but also for dialogue.’
He added that the US president’s warning against Tehran of action should protests turn bloody motivated ‘terrorists’ to target demonstrators and security forces, and invite foreign intervention.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use lethal force against the Iranian government for its violent efforts to suppress protestors, saying Iran ‘is in big trouble’ on Friday.
‘I’ve made the statement very strongly that if they start killing people as they have in the past, we will get involved,’ he told reporters.
Tehran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, hit back at the threat, warning on Saturday that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an ‘enemy of God,’ a death-penalty charge.
