AviationNews – A United States Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft touched down at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport on Tuesday morning, marking an extraordinary direct flight between NATO airspace and the Russian capital. The rare arrival comes amid discreet backchannel security contacts and delicate diplomatic maneuvers surrounding the war in Ukraine. Flight-tracking records indicate the heavy strategic airlifter, registered under tail number 07-7181 and operating under callsign Reach 4555, departed Riga, Latvia, before entering Russian airspace with pre-cleared diplomatic authorization.