A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III, call sign RCH936 and tail number 98-0053, departed MacDill Air Force Base en route to Manta, Ecuador, carrying cargo from Erbil, Iraq, as the sixth Southern Spear-related cargo flight primarily sourced from CENTCOM area of responsibility, according to an X post by @SA_Defensa shared between 4:16 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. UTC on December 18, 2025. The post, published in the past 29 minutes, describes the mission as part of ongoing Southern Spear cargo operations to Ecuador's Manta airport (MEC/SEMT), with assets originating from the US Central Command region including Erbil, Iraq. This development occurs amid recent US military activities in the Caribbean, including the earlier sighting of USNS Supply at Muelle de Ponce in Puerto Rico at 9:22 a.m. local time, as reported in prior updates.
