MILITARY aircraft from the United States once again paid a visit to South Wales, coming in to land at Cardiff Airport.

On Monday (December 27), the Welsh capital’s airport welcomed two Lockheed C-130T Hercules aircraft in to land.

The turboprop aircraft, which are most commonly used as military transport, are both owned and operated by the United States Navy.

According to flight tracking software, the planes came to land at Cardiff having taken off some hours earlier from McGuire Air Force Base, in New Jersey.

Prior to their journey, the aircraft were seen carrying out maintenance flights, departing the Air Force Base on a loop, before returning a short while later.

No reason has yet been given for their trip to Wales, though it is not the first time in recent months that the US Navy has paid a visit to Cardiff Airport.

However, the aircraft enjoyed a two day stay in the capital, eventually taking off in late morning today (Wednesday, December 29).

Radar was able to track one of the two planes travelling South over mainland Europe, where it briefly made a stop at Stuttgart Airport in Germany.

From here, it once again departed, continuing a journey South.

Latest data shows the flight path taking the huge transporter over Italy, and while its final destination is not yet known, similar trips of a recent nature may offer up a little clue.

How did we get here?

When US Navy planes have departed Cardiff in recent times, they have gone on to land at Chania International Airport in Crete, Greece.

On these occasions, the purpose of the flights, according to the US Navy themselves and a spokeswoman from Cardiff Airport, was for routine training purposes.

As of yet, there is no information regarding these latest journeys from America to Cardiff, or their onward flights towards mainland Europe and beyond.

If it is indeed yet another training exercise, there is no indication as to why Cardiff is continuing to prove a popular landing spot for the aircraft.

That being said, covid has had a dramatic impact on commercial air travel at Cardiff Airport, which currently has a fairly light schedule in terms of passenger flights.

Compared to many other airports in the UK, Cardiff is not currently short of landing slots for flights looking to touch down.