At least 7x C-17 Globemaster III with the US Air Force (USAF) have arrived or en route to the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford Air Base in the UK, with much of those cargo planes leaving air bases in the US housing personnel assigned to Special Operations Aviation Regiments, according to flight records by Armchairadml.

Multiple flights from Istanbul to Moscow were canceled earlier this night following a drone attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against the Russian capital.

2-3x AC-130J air support “Ghostriders”, and possibly 1 MH-47G “Chinook” heavy lift transport helicopter along with 5x MH-60S “Seahawk” Anti-Surface Warfare helicopters with the US Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th-SOAR) have arrived at UK’s Fairford Air Base earlier today after transiting the Atlantic Ocean, most likely to participate in the NATO Steadfast Dart 2026 (STDT26) exercise in Germany and the Baltic Sea.

H/T DefenceGeek for recording the flights.

A Russian Shahed-136/Geran-2 drone downed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) was seen with a MANPAD (Man-Portable Air-Defense System) installed on it to counter Ukrainian anti-drone UAVs. Russia also installed IR searchlights to blind anti-drone UAVs and is developing different countermeasures recently.

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Situation in Iran per the Institute for the Study of War and Critical Threat. ISW-CTP recorded 62 protests across 18 provinces in Iran on Jan. 3rd.

The protests are still not very concerning. I’ve talked about the Iranian protests earlier this week. Only when it gets really bad, I will cover the situation there. The situation is indeed escalating, and several protesters were killed, but it hasn’t reached a critical point.

https://x.com/thestudyofwar/status/2007584242952245741

Rafale-C fighter jet with the French Air and Space Force striking the underground facilities with precision AASM HAMMER bombs. The strikes occurred ≈40 km north of Palmyra.

RQ-4B “Global Hawk” drone with the US Air Force completed a reconnaissance flight over the Black Sea after departing Naval Station Sigonella in Italy.

Loud explosions in the Russian city of Oryol, southwest of the country, as the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) reportedly launch a missile strike most likely targeting the local thermal power plant in the city.

Internet traffic in Iran has dropped to effectively zero as of 18:45 UTC as local protests escalate across the country, according to CloudFlare Radar data.

That’s a totally normal flight. Happens frequently.

Also, there is no such thing as “RAF Prestwick AB”. It’s a commercial airport and has nothing to do with the UK Royal Air Force although it is used by RAF sometimes.

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This too happens almost everyday.

Footage released by Ukraine’s “Deep Strike” unit of the Special Ops Forces (SSO) show the destruction of drilling rigs belonging to the Russian "Lukoil" oil company in the waters of the Caspian Sea, including ice-resistant stationary platforms.

Buk-M3 air defense system with the Russian Vostok/East group of forces intercepting Ukrainian HIMARS rockets and guided aerial bombs south of Donetsk.

The strike carried out by the Russian Armed Forces (AFRF) on the night of January 9 using the "Oreshnik" Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) resulted in the halting of operations in the Ukrainian Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant, which is used to repair F-16AM and MiG-29 jets, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.