Why did a Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II fly to Baku?

At least 20 U.S. Air Force military transport aircraft arrived in Armenia and Azerbaijan ahead of a regional visit by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, according to data from Flightradar.

Most of the flights were recorded between February 4 and 8. Monitoring data show that 12 U.S. military transport aircraft landed in Armenia, while nine flew to Azerbaijan. The aircraft mainly departed from U.S. bases and refuelled at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Nearly all flights were operated by Boeing C‑17A Globemaster III heavy airlifters, capable of carrying payloads of up to 77.5 tonnes.

In addition, a specialised U.S. Air Force special operations aircraft — the Lockheed Martin MC‑130J Commando II — was also tracked flying to Yerevan and Baku. Two similar flights were recorded to Georgia.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is paying an official visit to Armenia on February 9–10 and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He is expected to travel to Azerbaijan on February 10–11.