New publicly available images indicate that nine U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reapers with serials 14-4242, 14-4269, 14-4275, 17-4348, 17-4355, 17-4356, 19-4390, 19-4398 and 20-4408 have flown out of Rafael Hernández International Airport (BQN) in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, in support of counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean, according to a LatAmMilMVMTs post on X during the reporting window from 8:16 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. UTC on December 24, 2025. Images of five USAF MC-130J Commando II aircraft at BQN show all identification marks and license plates erased on the aircraft, which operate under U.S. Special Operations Command for functions including in-flight refueling and special forces insertion and extraction, according to a Flightwatcher1 post on X quoting LatAmMilMVMTs and r4streando from a December 24 morning update shared over the past hour. The aircraft movements to Aguadilla occurred at night without tracking application records. The U.S. Navy Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group conducted fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean Sea at geolocation 13.35894, -66.28738 with the MV Ocean Trader Special Warfare Support vessel, as stated in SA_Defensa posts on X during the reporting window. These MQ-9A observations update a prior report of seven aircraft from the same location, per the LatAmMilMVMTs post. Earlier today, an MQ-9 Reaper as DUCKY44 returned to BQN at 14:21 UTC, according to r4streando, and a Sentinel-2 image from December 22 confirmed the five MC-130Js at the airport, as posted by LatAmMilMVMTs and relayed by MichaelBonet8.
