U.S. Army’s “ATHENA” spy plane arrives in allied base near China and North Korea

A new United States spy plane reportedly arrived in treaty ally South Korea on Thursday as the Pentagon doubles up reconnaissance flights against China and North Korea.

Newsweek has contacted the Chinese military and North Korea’s embassy in Beijing for comment by email. U.S. Forces Korea said it will not comment as a matter of policy.

Why It Matters

South Korea hosts 28,500 U.S. troops in a bid to deter aggression from nuclear-armed North Korea.

The U.S. Air Force deploys several variants of the RC-135 spy plane at Kadena Air Base, a U.S. military hub on Japan’s Okinawa Island. Open-source flight tracking data showed that they were flying near China’s coast and North Korea’s border last week.

What To Know

According to ADS-B Exchange, an online platform that collects radio signals transmitted from aircraft to provide a real-time tracking service, a U.S. Army BD-700 aircraft flew to Camp Humphreys, an American army garrison in South Korea, from Texas via Alaska.

It was identified as an Army Theater-level High-altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ATHENA) aircraft.

The ATHENA is a modified Bombardier Global 6500 business jet, equipped with a radome underneath and a signals intelligence sensor suite, according to Bizjets of War, an analyst active on X (formerly Twitter) who writes about business jets modified for spy missions.

The ATHENA program consists of four aircraft and began test flights in March 2024. The aircraft that flew to South Korea “highly likely” marks the beginning of the first-ever ATHENA deployment, the analyst said, and there are plans to station two aircraft there.

As of last October, the U.S. Air Force has deployed the U-2 high-altitude/near-space reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft in South Korea. The U-2, which was originally designed early in the Cold War, can deliver critical imagery and signals intelligence to decision-makers.

What People Are Saying

U.S. Forces Korea told Newsweek via email: “[U.S. Forces Korea] remains committed to working with our allies and partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific through routine operations, training, and engagements.”

Bizjets of War, an analyst who writes about business jets modified for spy missions, said: “Compared to the older platforms, which are generally based on turboprop or old airliner-sized aircraft…bizjet-based platforms have a longer operational range and can fly at higher altitudes, increasing the time it can conduct its mission and the range of the onboard sensors.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen how North Korea and China will respond to the arrival of the new American spy plane in the Western Pacific Ocean as the U.S. military continues to fly spy missions.