A United States specialized military aircraft capable of detecting nuclear activities from the sky was spotted heading to the Indian Ocean for a possible air sampling mission.
The U.S. Air Force has been operating a fleet of three atmospheric collection aircraft, the WC-135R Constant Phoenix, since December 2023 to support the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which prohibits nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space, and under water.
The Constant Phoenix, also known as “Nuke Sniffer,” detects radioactive “clouds” in real time by collecting particulate as well as gaseous effluents and debris from the atmosphere. It routinely conducts air sampling missions around the world, including the Indian Ocean.
Newsweek has contacted Offutt Air Force Base, the Constant Phoenix fleet’s home in Nebraska, for comment via its website.
U.S. Air Force
Data captured by the aircraft tracking service Flightradar24 showed one of the WC-135R aircraft flew westward after departing Offutt Air Force Base on Thursday. It made a brief stopover at Honolulu in Hawaii before continuing its journey.
The aircraft reached Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and remained there for two days. It took off on Saturday for a further westward flight, passing over waters around the Philippines, including the Philippine Sea, Celebes Sea, Sulu Sea, and South China Sea.
After flying over the Gulf of Thailand and Malay Peninsula, the Constant Phoenix reached the Andaman Sea and Indian Ocean. It was heading southwest before the Flightradar24 lost its tracking data due to a possible low level of coverage in the region.
An open-source intelligence analyst active on X (formerly Twitter), @MeNMyRC1, said the Constant Phoenix was flying toward Diego Garcia, a U.S. military outpost in the Indian Ocean. It is also the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago.
The analyst said the “Nuke Sniffer” was expected to conduct operations out of Diego Garcia along India and potentially South Africa for a six-month follow-up air sampling mission.
The Constant Phoenix fleet also conducts its missions over the Far East, Bay of Bengal, Mediterranean Sea, Polar regions, and off the coasts of South America and Africa.
In late October, an WC-135R flew an air sampling mission over the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, according to the same open-source intelligence analyst. In early August, a Constant Phoenix concluded its mission around South America and returned home from Curaçao in the Caribbean Sea.
Constant Phoenix 64-14831 as Atom-31 is RTB to Offutt AFB after completing a ~3 week deployment to Curacao and gathering air samples around South America. pic.twitter.com/Z94C3Zxdd6
— MeNMyRC (@MeNMyRC1) August 2, 2024
The deployment of an American “Nuke Sniffer” aircraft came after a report of Israel’s airstrike last month that destroyed a top-secret nuclear research facility in Iran. The site was used for activities critical to developing a nuclear weapon, including explosive tests, according to Axios, citing U.S. and Israeli officials.
Iran has declared that it “rejects weapons of mass destruction” and that its nuclear program is peaceful in nature, but it has said it will equip itself “to the extent necessary” to protect the country.
Diego Garcia is 2,570 miles from the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway connecting the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf. It is an important forward operating base for the American bomber fleet, while supporting logistic operations for warships in the region.