What’s New
A United States missile-tracking aircraft was tracked flying above the waters between Japan and South Korea, two of Washington’s security treaty allies in East Asia, for eight consecutive days as of Tuesday, according to data captured by aircraft tracking service Flightradar24.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the U.S. Forces Korea, the U.S. Forces Japan, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, and the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The flights were conducted by one of the three U.S. Air Force RC-135S reconnaissance aircraft, also known as Cobra Ball, capable of collecting optical and electronic data on ballistic missiles. The fleet is mainly used to monitor missile movements and launch events in North Korea.
While North Korea did not conduct missile firings in the past week, the continuous daily flight of the Cobra Ball came after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law on December 3, which the country’s parliament voted to impeach him for.
What To Know
On Saturday, South Korea’s MBC News reported, citing open-source flight data, that two Cobra Ball aircraft were dispatched from their forward operating site at Kadena Air Base on the Japanese southwestern island of Okinawa to the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, on December 10.
An open-source intelligence analyst on X (formerly Twitter), @MeNMyRC1, said, “This is the first time I have seen two CB [Cobra Ball] aircraft flying against a presumed NK [North Korea] launch window.” One of the aircraft arrived at Kadena from its home base in the U.S. mainland on December 5.
High priority tasking for Cobra Ball fleet vs North Korean ballistic missile testing.
Approximately 7 hours ago, Cobra Ball 62-4128 as Cosmo-97 was noted Northbound across Japan. This is the third flight for 128 since arriving December 5th.
61-2662, the other Cobra Ball at… pic.twitter.com/hjqKVHxAFz— MeNMyRC (@MeNMyRC1) December 10, 2024
Regarding the Cobra Ball’s flights, an expert told MBC News that they could be used for surveillance of the South Korean military, as the aircraft can track locations of missiles and rocket launchers.
The report also cited another expert that unconfirmed intelligence showed the “Chungam faction” that remained in the South Korean military was planning an artillery attack on domestic targets, which was in line with the possibility of imposing a second martial law after the first attempt.
The faction refers to a group within Yoon’s inner circle, composed of alumni from Chungam High School in the capital city of Seoul, including the president and his defense chief, Kim Yong Hyun.
“Personally, I do not believe there is any connection to South Korea,” @MeNMyRC1 told Newsweek via direct message on X on Monday. “There is just no reason for them to do that. The [Cobra Ball’s] daily flights have continued, and the target is still going to be North Korea.”
What People Are Saying
Senior Airman Amy Younger/U.S. Air Force
Kim Min Seok, Aviation Week Korea correspondent, told MBC News: “The RC-135S (Cobra Ball) can track the trajectories and locations of missiles and multiple rocket launchers, and these flight trajectories can detect various launches and artillery fire not only in North Korea but also in South Korea. It [the flights] could be for the purpose of monitoring the South Korean military.”
@MeNMyRC1 told Newsweek: “I believe the U.S. has other intelligence (satellite type) that there is equipment positioned for a launch, and that is why we are seeing the increased flight activity. It is likely this test is one of the newer, larger missiles the North Koreans have been developing, and that would be a high priority to collect intelligence on. Since pictures don’t tell you when a test will take place, you have to send the airplane so it can be on station if the launch occurs.”
What Happens Next
President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office on January 20, 2025. North Korea may try to send a signal to the upcoming Trump administration by launching ballistic missiles.
