An investigation by the research platform Deep Dive has uncovered the hidden details of covert aerial intelligence operations carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom in the Gaza Strip. The report, authored by journalists Matt Kennard and Abdullah Farouk, states that since December 2023, a British spy plane operating on behalf of Israeli occupation forces has been replaced by a private aircraft owned by an American company.
According to the findings, the UK Royal Air Force’s “Shadow R1” Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft had been conducting daily sorties over Gaza from the Akrotiri Air Base in southern Cyprus. However, on 25 July, the mission was handed over to a new US spy aircraft operated by Straight Flight Nevada Commercial Leasing LLC, a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation — one of the Pentagon’s major contractors.
The new aircraft is equipped with advanced satellite communications, electro-optical, and thermal sensors, and conducted operations under a “blacklisted” status, meaning it did not appear on publicly available flight trackers. According to the investigation, on 28 July it carried out a three-hour low-altitude flight over Khan Younis, after which deadly airstrikes took place in the area.
A notable aspect of the investigation is the involvement of Turkish-born American Fatih Özmen, CEO of the company that owns the aircraft. Under Özmen’s leadership, Sierra Nevada has signed multibillion-dollar contracts with the US Department of Defense and has also undertaken the UK Ministry of Defence’s “Zodiac” project.
Fatih Özmen was also mentioned in 2023 in connection with then-presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s proposal to transform Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport into an aviation and space hub.
Both the UK and US defence ministries declined to respond to Deep Dive’s questions, and company representatives also refused to comment.
