US Military Transport Plane’s Arrival in Moscow Sparks Mystery and Confusion: Report

U.S. Air Force plane Boeing C-17A Globemaster III lands at Vilnius airport in Lithuania, Saturday, July 8, 2023. A similar military plane made a mysterious landing in Moscow, according to reports. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Flight-tracking data revealed an American military transport landed in Moscow Tuesday, according to reports.

The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III departed the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Sunday afternoon, NBC News reported.

The aircraft made a stop in Riga, Latvia, before traveling on to Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow.

The transport landed in the Russian capital just after 3 a.m. Eastern time, the outlet reported, citing data from FlightRadar24.

The plane’s passengers were not known, and it’s unclear why an American military flight would land in Moscow, with a Kremlin spokesman telling the network he had no information about the flight.

Other sources — including the U.S. military, the White House, the U.S. embassy in Moscow or the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C. — did not immediately respond to NBC’s request for comment, the network said.

The aircraft usually employs a three-person crew, including a pilot, co-pilot, and loadmaster, and is known for its ability to deliver troops and various types of cargo, according to the U.S. Air Force:

The aircraft is operated by a crew of three (pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster), reducing manpower requirements, risk exposure and long-term operating costs.

Cargo is loaded onto the C-17 through a large aft ramp and door system that accommodates virtually all of the Army’s air-transportable equipment such as a 69-ton M1 Abrams main battle tank, armored vehicles, trucks and trailers.

Additionally, the cargo floor has rollers that can be flipped from a flat floor to accommodate wheeled or tracked vehicles to rollerized conveyers to accommodate palletized cargo.

The C-17 is designed to airdrop 102 paratroopers with their accompanying equipment.

The Air Force did not immediately return Mediaite’s request for comment.

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