Tracking geopolitics and regional risk through flight movements has become an essential open-source intelligence tool. By monitoring military aircraft, ISR platforms, and state transport flights, it is often possible to identify diplomatic activity, security postures, and shifts in strategic focus in near real time. Today, four distinct flight tracks stand out, each highlighting a different dimension of the current regional landscape.

First, for approximately four hours, a U.S. CENTCOM-operated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drone, callsign OVRLD01 (Hex AE7813, registration 169660), identified as a Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, conducted a continuous high-altitude ISR mission over the Persian Gulf and along the UAE coastline, operating under military squawk 534. The prolonged loitering pattern is consistent with strategic monitoring during a period of elevated regional sensitivity.

The second track involved Algerian military-flagged aircraft 7T-VPC, a Gulfstream IV, which operated a long-range state mission to Doha International Airport (DIA). The aircraft arrived at 04:47 AM on Sunday, 25 January 2026, and departed at 06:22 AM on Monday, 26 January 2026, remaining in Qatar for approximately 25 hours. This timing aligns directly with the official visit of Algeria’s Minister of Justice, Lotfi Boudjemaa, who was received in Doha during the first edition of the Doha Law Forum, focused on legal, regulatory, and governance frameworks. The aircraft type, military database flag, and precise schedule are consistent with high-level Algerian state transport supporting an official ministerial engagement.

A third flight capture occurred in Israeli airspace, involving an Israeli military IAI Heron (HRON) unmanned aerial vehicle, Hex 738BE8, operating under military squawk 3105. The drone flew for over one hour in repeated circular holding patterns over the Tel Mikne / Ekron area after departing Tel Nof Airbase, one of the Israeli Air Force’s principal bases. The sustained loitering behavior reflects localized ISR activity consistent with ongoing security monitoring or training mission.

The fourth tracked flight involved PAK1, Hex 762BF4, registration J-756, a Pakistani military Gulfstream IV operating under squawk 353, which departed Pakistan and landed in Abu Dhabi at approximately 16:00 UTC. The routing and timing strongly indicate the aircraft was transporting Pakistan’s President, Asif Ali Zardari, to the United Arab Emirates for an official visit from 26 to 29 January 2026, accompanied by a senior delegation. The visit underscores a maturing Pakistan–UAE strategic partnership, with emphasis on economic cooperation, defense, security, and long-term regional stability.