Royal Air Force: RAF jet used for 'tactical missions' spotted at Manchester Airport in 'super rare' sighting

A Royal Air Force (RAF) jet made a “super rare” visit to Manchester Airport yesterday (Wednesday 13 March). The RAF jet, RC-135, made a low fly-past of runway 23R at the airport and was spotted flying across the region.

Airliners Live posted on X, formerly Twitter: “What a catch on today's show! A super rare visitor to Manchester Airport: A @RoyalAirForce RC-135 with a low fly-past of runway 23R at Manchester.”

One user responded to the post saying that they had “luckily caught it in Stockport on my way home”. According to the RAF theRC-135W Rivet Joint is a “dedicated electronic surveillance aircraft that can be employed in all theatres on strategic and tactical missions”, adding that its “sensors ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems.”

One user posted on X that the jet has been “doing circuits around RAF Waddington”, the military base in Lincolnshire. Another user commented that the video posted on X was a “great catch” and “very rare sight at Manchester”. The user added: “It’s a bit ugly though. Reminds me of a duckbilled platypus.”