U.S. military activity over the Caribbean stepped up noticeably on Thursday, Dec. 18. A U.S. Air Force E-3C airborne warning and control (AWACS) aircraft appeared on flight trackers flying in an area north of Caracas for the first time. The involvement of E-3’s in the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean was previously reported but Dec. 18 flight was the first time it had its transponder on. Already in the area when it arrived was a U.S. Navy E-2D, a carrier-based airborne radar aircraft similar but not identical in function to the E-3, and a pair of EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. According to The War Zone, two F-18 Super Hornet strike aircraft were also in the air. TWZ calls the appearance of the E-3 “a significant development,” because it has greater capabilities to work with a far larger force than the Navy-oriented E-2 has.
TWZ also cites reports indicating that as many as 20 air refueling tankers, KC-135’s and KC-46’s, are forward deployed to the region, in the Dominican Republic and at an airfield in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, according to a Dec. 20 New York Times report, GPS jamming by both sides is disrupting civilian air traffic in the region. Experts consulted by the Times said that the jamming was mostly defensive in nature but that at least one in five flights in the Caribbean has experienced problems with GPS navigation since early September, according to data provided by Stanford’s GPS Lab.
