A US military plane "painted a penis" in the sky near a Russian airbase, La Repubblica. A KC-135 Stratotanker refueling plane remained for almost two hours east of Cyprus on Tuesday, in front of the Syrian base of Tartus, a stronghold of Moscow. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
BuzzFeed News has never shied away from covering penis art in the sky. Sometimes it's God's doing. Sometimes it's a rogue Navy pilot overcome by the spirit of the sack. Whomever the artist and whatever the quality of work, if there's a dick floating in the sky, we're on it.
Which is why, when I lamented in a newsroom-wide discussion about our sky peen coverage that I hadn't yet written about any dick drawings during my storied career at BuzzFeed News, my editor decided it was time.
While flying on the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, an Air Force refuel aircraft drew a dick and balls in the sky as it circled the airspace between Cyprus and Lebanon. Eagle-eyed observers noticed the plane's phallic trajectory on the flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
The sky penis was drawn near Tartus, a Syrian city where Russia has a naval base, according to Italian media outlet La Repubblica. Some took it as mockery against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is waging a brutal war against Ukraine.
Air Force officials, however, are claiming it wasn't done on purpose.
"The KC-135 Stratotanker (RAKE71) operating in the Eastern Mediterranean adjusted between multiple different flight tracks during the course of the mission,โ Capt. Ryan Goss, a spokesperson for US Air Forces in Europe, told Task & Purpose. "While these adjustments and movements appear to create a vulgar outline, there was no intent by the pilots or the unit to do so."
Goss also vowed that the Air Force "will continue to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and airmanship."
There was no word if the pilot(s) will be sacked. When contacted by BuzzFeed News about the dick drawing, a spokesperson for the Air Force's press desk chuckled and took down this reporter's contact info.
We will update this post when more details are available.