Some American troops are on standby as the world waits to see whether Russia will invade Ukraine, but the U.S. Air Force\u2019s involvement in the conflict is already well underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. and allied reconnaissance flights in the region have been ongoing since at least Dec. 24, dispatching multiple types of military planes to serve as extra eyes and ears over Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday alone, aviation radar-tracking sites showed at least eight American and Swedish aircraft flying over Ukraine, the Black Sea and the Baltics. They included two RC-135V\/W Rivet Joint planes equipped to listen in on communications signals and an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone that gathers high-altitude images and other data through various sensors.<\/p>\n\n\n\t