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... Since February 4, the U.S. Navy and Air Force have conducted at least 25 such flights using manned aircraft and drones, most of them near the country's two biggest cities, Havana and Santiago de Cuba, and some coming within 40 miles of the coast, according to FlightRadar24.

Most of the flights were by P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which are designed for surveillance and reconnaissance, while some were by an RC-135V Rivet Joint, which specializes in signals intelligence gathering. Several MQ-4C Triton high-altitude reconnaissance drones have also been used.

The flights are notable not only for their proximity to the coast, which puts them well within range of gathering intelligence, but for the suddenness of their appearance -- prior to February, such publicly visible flights were exceedingly rare in this area -- and for their timing. ...