US Air Force C-17 carried CIA director on secret Moscow trip

A United States Air Force (USAF) Boeing C-17A Globemaster III was tracked flying from Riga International Airport (RIX) in Latvia to Moscow Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) on the morning of August 25, 2026, according to data published by flight tracking service Flightradar24.

The aircraft used the callsign RCH4555 and carried the serial 07-7181. Flightradar24 data showed it leaving Riga at approximately 08:50 Moscow time, with the track ending at Vnukovo at approximately 10:04. The service listed no further movement for the airframe after that point.

Flightradar24 records for the same airframe show it arrived in Riga on August 23, 2026. Its departure point was listed as Camp Springs, Maryland, the location of Joint Base Andrews (ADW), which handles US government and senior-official air transport.

Asked about the reports at a briefing on August 25, 2026, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not have such information, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Peskov also said no meeting with representatives of the US administration was scheduled at the Kremlin for the week of August 24, 2026.

Tracking data initially treated with caution

The airspace east of the Baltic states is among the areas where regulators have documented persistent satellite navigation interference, which degrades the position data that commercial tracking services depend on.

Flightradar24 nonetheless confirmed the routing, stating on August 25, 2026 that the USAF C-17A had flown from Riga to Moscow Vnukovo Airport.

An unusual visitor to Moscow this morning. A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III flew from Riga to Moscow Vnukovo Airporthttps://t.co/D7vylYesDQ pic.twitter.com/jXbOSj0LXM— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 25, 2026

Unverified footage said to show the C-17 on approach to Vnukovo circulated on social media.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport after flying from Riga, Latvia.U.S. and Russian officials have not disclosed the purpose of the rare military flight. pic.twitter.com/hsvWZ66kIc— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 25, 2026

C-17 arrival in MoscowSource: https://t.co/DAAErGqiFL https://t.co/i5gQlKKe7B pic.twitter.com/Kdfn1u3TUQ— George N. (@GeorgeN28581) August 25, 2026

August 25, 2026, 17:23 (UTC +3)

C-40B follows C-17 to Riga as US convoy appears in Moscow

Further review of Flightradar24 data shows that a second USAF aircraft followed the C-17 from Joint Base Andrews to Riga. Flight RCH790 was operated by Boeing C-40B 02-0042 VIP transport.

The C-40B departed Andrews at 02:45 Moscow time on August 24, 2026, and reached Riga at 11:19, approximately three hours after the C-17 landed there at 08:18. The USAF describes the C-40B as an “office in the sky” used to transport senior military and government leaders, with combatant commanders as its primary customers. Public tracking records showed no onward leg for 02-0042 from Riga.

Footage circulated later on August 25, 2026, showed three vehicles with red diplomatic registration plates traveling through central Moscow under police escort. Gazeta.ru described them as vehicles with US diplomatic plates.

US diplomatic convoy seen travelling through Moscow under heavy police escort today. pic.twitter.com/ZDJP8ZPrOO— WarMonitor (@WarMonitor3) August 25, 2026

No US agency had publicly identified the C-17’s purpose, passengers or cargo by the evening of August 25, 2026.

August 25, 2026, 18:14 (UTC +3)
CIA director identified as passenger aboard C-17

Subsequent US reporting identified Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe as the senior official who traveled to Moscow. CBS News first reported, citing sources familiar with the situation, that Ratcliffe was in the Russian capital for meetings. It described the trip as his first known visit to Russia since becoming CIA director.

Axios subsequently reported, citing two US officials, that Ratcliffe traveled from Riga to Moscow aboard the USAF C-17. The outlet said he had left Washington on August 23, 2026, aboard a US government aircraft [likely 02-0042 – ed. note] and traveled first to Latvia.

Ahead of the visit, the United States informed Ukraine that a senior delegation was traveling to Moscow and asked it to suspend strikes until the delegation had left, Axios reported. The outlet described Ratcliffe’s trip as the highest-level visit to Russia by a Trump administration official since January 2026.

Neither report identified the Russian officials Ratcliffe was meeting or the subjects under discussion. The CIA did not comment.

US military flights into Russia remain rare

Russia and the United States have barred each other’s civil aircraft from their airspace since March 2022, following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. State aircraft, including military transports, require separate diplomatic clearance, and US military movements into Russian territory have been infrequent.

A USAF aircraft was tracked at Vnukovo in February 2025 during the prisoner exchange that returned Alexander Vinnik to Russia and freed US teacher Marc Fogel. Traffic in the other direction has drawn similar attention, including the Russian government aircraft tracked into Anchorage for the Trump-Putin talks in August 2025.

Those missions have generally used Gulfstream C-37 VIP transports. The C-17A is a strategic airlifter configured for outsize cargo, vehicles, and troop movement.The post US Air Force C-17 carried CIA director on secret Moscow trip appeared first on AeroTime.

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