A US military plane was accussed of drawing a penis pointing at a Russian base in Syria with its flight path last week, American media reported.
Twitter accounts monitoring the flight path of a KC-135 Stratotanker noticed that the aircraft traveled in an odd path that created an oval and two circles between Cyprus and Lebanon, and below Syria. The phallus shape appeared to be pointed at the Syrian port city of Latakia, which hosts a Russian air base. American media noted that the penis flight path lingered next to Tartus, the site of a Russian naval base.
A US military plane "painted a penis" in the sky near a Russian airbase, La Repubblica.A KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane remained for almost two hours east of Cyprus on Tuesday, in front of the Syrian base of Tartus, a stronghold of Moscow. pic.twitter.com/SCs0QZhUMV
— MAKS 22 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) November 2, 2022
The US Air Force denied that the Stratotanker, which had taken off from Cyprus's Chania International Airport, had intended to create such an image.
“The KC-135 Stratotanker (RAKE71) operating in the Eastern Mediterranean adjusted between multiple different flight tracks during the course of the mission,” US Air Forces in Europe spokesman Capt. Ryan Goss said according to Task and Purpose. “While these adjustments and movements appear to create a vulgar outline, there was no intent by the pilots or the unit to do so. As we continue to look into this, USAFE-AFAFRICA, AMC [Air Mobility Command] and the USAF will continue to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and airmanship.”
Past vulgar skywriting
This is not the first time that American aviators have created phallic images with their flight paths.
According to Military.com, in 2017 two US Navy pilots created the image of a giant penis with skywriting over Washington state using an EA-18G Growler.
The pilots were punished but were allowed to remain pilots.