Advertisement
A US spy plane was spotted taking off from England last week as it embarked on another reconnaissance mission in Europe amid growing tension between Russia and Ukraine.
Photographs of the Lockheed U-2, nicknamed the Dragon Lady after its CIA codename, were captured at RAF Fairford on April 16 as an estimated 100,000 Russian soldiers continued to gather near the Ukrainian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has since signalled that Russia will begin to pull back excess troops, while he created an inflatable army outside Moscow which could be deployed to fool enemy drones and satellites.
The high-altitude, reconnaissance aircraft has often been seen above the Gloucestershire base in recent weeks, but both the Ministry of Defence and the U.S. Air Force have refused to reveal the reason for the movement.