© The DriveThe mysterious Seattle spy plane. What's in your skies?
A US Air Force spy plane has been flying circles above Seattle for over a week. The military says it is on a routine training mission, while aviation analysts speculate it could be testing new surveillance technologies.
The plain gray CN-235-300, with a call sign 'SPUD21' and serial number 96-6042, has been flying over Seattle since late July, according to FlightAware data
pointed out by analysts Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick.
Aside from a weekend stop in Portland, it appears to be based out of Boeing Field International (BFI). Rather than from Boeing's military ramp, however, the plane is operating out of Clay Lacy Aviation, the high-end private jet center often used by military aircraft.
The US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and its subordinate Joint Task Force-North (JTF-N) both told Rogoway and Trevithick they were not tracking the aircraft or its mission. They received the same answer from the US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), while the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) forwarded yet another query on the issue back to AFSOC, they said.
On Friday, AFSOC public affairs officer Matt Durham told RT America that the plane is one of theirs, and that its activity was "just a training mission."Rogoway and Trevithick describe the mystery spy plane as "covered in a dizzying array of blisters, protrusions, humps and bumps,"
including missile warning detectors, flare dispensers, and microwave and ultra-high-frequency antennae. Another antenna array on the bottom of the plane suggests
the presence of a communications intelligence suite, while a rectangular structure mounted on the left side of the plane appears to be a visual intelligence-gathering installation.
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