Due to official imagery slowly trickling out, and new sightings by UK aviation fans, we now know some extra concerning the property concerned within the seizure of the Bella 1/Marinera.
We instantly turned conscious, because the operation to grab the Marinera, or Bella 1, oil tanker bought underway, that the helicopter of alternative for the mission was the MH-6M Little Fowl. At the very least considered one of these helicopters was pictured by crew members on board the ship and subsequently launched by way of Russian state media. We couldn’t affirm the variety of plane concerned on the time, although it was anticipated to be a couple of.
It’s now clear at the very least 4 Little Fowl helicopters from the one hundred and sixtieth Particular Operation Aviation Regiment had been by some means discreetly deployed to the North Atlantic. The 4 helicopters arrived in formation at Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland on the morning of Jan. 10, 2026, and had been subsequently loaded into the again of a U.S. Air Power C-17A Globemaster III. The id of the 4 Little Birds, as confirmed by spotters on the fenceline, had been 81-23648, 81-23650, 90-25359, and 90-25363. Whether or not all 4 flew in the course of the mission, or if some had been held in reserve as spares, isn’t confirmed.
4 x MH-6 Little Birds landed this morning at Prestwick ready to be picked up by the C17 flying up from Fairford pic.twitter.com/Gs2NZjMRsO
— Isabelle (@Swisscheese80) January 10, 2026
First little chicken pushed onto the C17 pic.twitter.com/7eQMuSMjbb
— Isabelle (@Swisscheese80) January 10, 2026
As a sidenote, it’s value declaring that two of those plane – 23648 and 25359 – had been concerned within the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, immortalized within the movie Black Hawk Down. 23648 flew as STAR 41 and was the primary unit ready to reply to the downing of SUPER 61, touchdown close by and recovering the 2 Delta snipers who had survived the crash. One would later succumb to his accidents.
Like we defined in our protection of the seizure, not like the MH-60M Black Hawks and MH-47G Chinooks of the identical unit which had been deployed to RAF Fairford, the Little Birds can’t be refueled in mid air. Their small dimension additionally carries with it an inherently shorter vary, that means it is vitally doubtless they’d taken off from a ship for the mission. How and once they bought to the ship, or ships, stays unclear – as does the id of the vessel(s) that they deployed from.
ScanEagle
One potential candidate, which we had already turn into conscious of because of footage taken by the tanker’s crew, is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Munro, which tailed the oil tanker because it made a break throughout the Atlantic allegedly for Murmansk, Russia. New photographs launched from on board the Munro present crew members both launching or recovering the ship’s onboard boat, in addition to making ready to launch a Boeing Insitu MQ-27 ScanEagle unmanned aerial automobile (UAV) – including one other plane kind to the record of these concerned.
The ScanEagle was developed from a business product meant to be used within the fishing business, and has turn into probably the most extensively deployed surveillance UAVs within the maritime area (with some customers additionally utilizing it ashore). Launched by catapult and recovered utilizing a hook system, the drone is mostly geared up with a excessive decision digital camera permitting the seize of seen gentle imagery and thermal imagery.
Arleigh Burke presence
Photos launched from the Munro additionally depict, for the primary time, an Arleigh Burke class destroyer participating within the operation to interdict the tanker. The usBulkeley (DDG 84) was photographed within the distance from the Munro, and extra photographs had been later launched from onboard the destroyer itself. As with the pictures from the Munro, they depart us with no indication as as to if it straight launched the Little Fowl helicopters or just acted in a help capability. We speculated that there have been doubtless extra U.S. property at sea within the surrounding space alongside the Munro, and there might effectively have been extra along with the Bulkeley.
On Jan. 10, the united statesPaul Ignatius (DDG 117) started a port go to in Scotland, not too far to the southeast of the place the tanker was seized. It appears very doubtless that this destroyer had additionally been concerned, although reasonably than an in depth escort just like the Bulkeley it could have as a substitute been tasked with monitoring Russian naval exercise within the wider space. Newer reviews point out that Russian naval vessels had been current within the neighborhood of the tanker whereas the seizure occurred, although that doesn’t rule out the potential for extra ships at higher distances. The rumors of a Russian submarine deployment would even have warranted further lengthy vary screening.
🇺🇸USS Paul Ignatius arrived at Hunterston Jetty on the Clyde yesterday after involvement within the operation to board tanker MV Marinera.
Laying a smokescreen…🙂
Through @wolfie250 pic.twitter.com/RejBvGAWGV
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) January 10, 2026
Some have speculated that the launch platform for the Little Birds may have been the British auxiliary tanker RFA Tideforce, which the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed had been a part of its help for the U.S. operation. Tideforce, with a flight deck able to dealing with helicopters as much as the dimensions of a Chinook and hangarage comfortably capable of accommodate a Merlin, can be greater than able to supporting a number of Little Birds, although as with the U.S. ships presently we’ve got completely no stable proof to help it having been used for this. Most certainly, Tideforce did help the U.S. ships with gasoline and logistics, as it’s designed to do.
In more moderen days, video footage of the Bella 1/Marinera seizure itself was launched. Although it exhibits a number of angles, apparently at totally different occasions, it reveals little concerning the operation. One notable depiction is of the very unexpectedly painted ‘Marinera’ marking written on the tanker’s stern, virtually actually utilized whereas at sea evading U.S. seize after a failed try to dock in Venezuela.
pic.twitter.com/Yv0CJFgRmk
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 10, 2026
Footage launched on the day of the seizure was shared extensively, with some claiming it to be from the Bella 1. This might have been essential as this video confirmed Black Hawk kind helicopters participating. Nevertheless, the footage truly depicted the seizure of the M Sophia within the Caribbean which occurred on the identical day. It’s simply distinguishable from the Bella 1 as a result of vertical help beams for its prolonged bridge wings, the Bella 1 as a substitute that includes diagonal helps.
As soon as once more, as has been written in our earlier protection, not one of the one hundred and sixtieth SOAR plane which had been famous at RAF Fairford within the leadup to this mission actively took half within the raid. Not solely had been aviation fans on the fenceline all through the day of the operation, however mainstream worldwide media shops additionally attended with their photographers. No flying by both the Black Hawks or Chinooks was recorded on this date, although one MH-60M Black Hawk made a brief take a look at flight the earlier night.
Whether or not they had been deployed as a distraction, a reserve, or whether or not the plans had merely advanced to not require them, maybe we might by no means really know for positive. Whereas the helicopters stay on the base on the time of writing, as a result of continued lack of any vital exercise in current days the thought of this being a coincidental train deployment is rising increasingly unlikely.
As could also be obvious, there are nonetheless many items of knowledge but to be uncovered, and lots of uncertainties we nonetheless await clarification for. Each time new particulars turn into accessible, we’ll remember to hold you updated.
