America's most mysterious plane mysteriously disappeared for 30 hours

 Direct translation

Only two in the world! America's most mysterious plane mysteriously disappeared for 30 hours

Reporter : Wang Duruo / Editor : Zhong Kang / https://www.aboluowang.com/2026/0702/2403028.html / Image : A U.S. RC-135U "Combat Sent" electronic reconnaissance aircraft was spotted staying in South Korea for approximately 30 hours on 26 June before departing. (File photo/Taken from the U.S. Air Force website)

The RC-135U Combat Sent electronic intelligence reconnaissance aircraft, one of only two in service worldwide and hailed as the US military's "most secretive electronic reconnaissance aircraft," suddenly lost its location over the Korean Peninsula, mysteriously "disappearing" for 30 hours, causing high tension within the North Korean military.

According to Voice of America's Korean edition, citing data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the RC-135U entered the Korean Peninsula airspace from southern South Korea at 7:53 AM on June 26th. After descending near Suwon, Gyeonggi Province at 8:14 AM, its location signal completely disappeared. It didn't reappear until 2:48 PM on June 27th, 30 hours later, climbing over Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, and landing at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa at 5 PM.

The RC-135U is the US military's most advanced electronic intelligence platform, with only two in service worldwide. Equipped with a highly classified automatic transmitter location system, it can detect, locate, and analyze enemy ground radar, shipborne radar, and military communication signals from hundreds of kilometers away, thus earning it the nickname "strategic spy plane."

Historical flight records show that this aircraft only appears over the Korean Peninsula two to three times a year. In the past, it typically conducts reconnaissance over the DMZ or Yellow Sea for several hours before returning to Okinawa, with signal interruptions lasting no more than one to two hours. This 30-hour "disappearance" is highly unusual, suggesting that the aircraft may have landed directly at a US military base in South Korea or conducted a highly targeted covert reconnaissance mission without a location.

North Korea has always been extremely sensitive to the close-in reconnaissance activities of this "old rival" spy plane, repeatedly condemning U.S. reconnaissance activities through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) for escalating tensions on the peninsula. This aircraft is also a frequent visitor to the Taiwan Strait and southwestern airspace, repeatedly making headlines in Taiwan for its close-range reconnaissance near China's territorial sea baseline.

South Korean media outlets such as News1 analyzed that this rare 30-hour stay by one of only two reconnaissance aircraft in the world is highly likely related to North Korea's recent announcement of a large-scale deployment of improved ballistic missiles with frequency-hopping capabilities along the inter-Korean border. The U.S. and South Korean militaries have clearly increased their vigilance, using this strategic spy aircraft to secretly monitor and document the radar characteristics of North Korea's missile launch system on the front lines, preparing for electronic warfare countermeasures in the event of a potential conflict.