At least 20 U.S. Air Force military transport aircraft were recorded in Armenia and Azerbaijan ahead of the regional visit by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, according to data from the FlightRadar service, The Caspian Post reports.

Monitoring data show a sharp increase in U.S. military aviation activity between February 4 and 8. During this period, 12 military transport aircraft arrived in Armenia, while nine flights were recorded to Azerbaijan. Most of the aircraft departed from U.S. bases and conducted refueling stops at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The majority of the flights were carried out by Boeing C-17A Globemaster III aircraft - heavy military transport planes capable of carrying payloads of up to 77.5 tons. In addition, specialized aircraft for U.S. Air Force special operations, the Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II, were also spotted flying to Yerevan and Baku. Two similar flights were recorded to Georgia.

Against this backdrop, J.D. Vance is paying an official visit to Armenia on February 9-10, after which he is scheduled to travel to Azerbaijan. Later today, at 5:30 p.m., a meeting is expected between the U.S. Vice President and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The scale and timing of the U.S. military flights have drawn attention from observers, given the sensitive regional environment and the tightly packed diplomatic agenda of the American vice president in the South Caucasus.