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Are you familiar with how MLAT works? I have a dataviz/infographic/GIS visualisation challenge that I'm coming to the realization I do not have the skills to adequately convey in a graphic, and am looking for some help.
Basically, I'd like to show what Syria (say) would look like with a robust MLAT-gathering network of Mode-S receivers in an isometric 3D representation, showing overlapping coverage cones, and the density of receivers needed for border or nationwide MLAT, if that makes any sense.
I picked Syria because the coverage in that area of the world isn't robust and we miss a lot of the aircraft coming in and out of the country, as well as neighbouring Iraq and Turkey.
Read 14 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-177 Globemaster III (4/5, 80% โœ…)

โ€ฃ 177703 flew the 3rd shipment of armoured vehicles to #Haiti ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น
โ€ฃ 177703 flew supplies from #14WingGreenwood to Sicily ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น for the pair of CP-140 Auroras deployed to Ex #DynamicManta.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b3ff,cโ€ฆ
#8WingTrenton #429Sqn Image
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-150 Polaris (4/5, 80% โœ…)

โ€ฃ 15001 is in #Hawaii for ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ as call sign #CFC3120, via San Diego from Trenton.
โ€ฃ 15004 is in New Orleans for ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ as call sign #CFC3133 from Trenton.
โ€ฃ 15002 is still at Mirabel.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b355,cโ€ฆ
#437Sqn #8WingTrenton Image
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-144C/D Challenger (3/4, 75% โœ…)

โ€ฃ The aircraft of 412 Transport Squadron are normally extremely busy, so a 3+ week break sticks out. 144618 must be working through some stuff.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b369,cโ€ฆ
#412Sqn #8WingTrenton Image
Read 5 tweets
Before I explain to the #AusAirForce ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ comms ppl, please appreciate that their P-8A Poseidon fleet broadcasts its own location to anyone who will listen, using ADS-B. That signal will geolocate them from orbit. On patrol, their locations are the least secret thing over the SCS.
This tweet, that has all the words in it you'd need to find it, gives you the tail numbers and ICAO Mode-S hexes of the whole #AusAirForce ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ P-8A Poseidon fleet. You can follow them pretty much any day with the link that's included in the quoted tweet.

On 2023-02-09 #AusAirForce ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ P-8A Poseidon A47-011 arrived at #KadenaAB ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on #Okinawa ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ตas call sign #ASY150.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=7cf9cb,7โ€ฆ
#7CF9D5
Read 19 tweets
Gripe:
The CAF display poor situational awareness re public visibility of ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF aircraft.

Examples:
- #14WingGreenwood deployments to Keflavik
- #19WingComox #OpCARIBBE Jan/Feb 2023
- #CANSOFCOM ISR over #Ottawa Jan 27/28 2022
- Withdrawal x2 CC-130J from #OpIMPACT Aug 2022
What about #14WingGreenwood deployments to Keflavik?

It's only a matter of time before the CP-140 Aurora deployments to Keflavik, that coincide with Russian Navy movements through the GIUK gap, get traction in the press.

They pretend it's not happening. We see them. ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ
What about the #19WingComox #OpCARIBBE Jan/Feb 2023 operation?

They pretended the press couldn't see it happening and wouldn't talk about it like it was some secret operation. Au contraire, it was so visible I live-tweeted it.

Read 5 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-177 Globemaster III (4/5, 80% โœ…)

โ€ฃ 177701 flew from Trenton to Ottawa to Whitehorse on 2023-02-12 presumably related to the ๐ŸŽˆ
โ€ฃ 177704 seems to be out of comission at #CFBTrenton, it hasn't flown in over a month.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b3ff,cโ€ฆ
#8WingTrenton #429Sqn Image
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-150 Polaris (4/5, 80% โœ…)

โ€ฃ 15002 is still going through some stuff at Mirabel, possibly out of commission for months.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b355,cโ€ฆ
#437Sqn #8WingTrenton Image
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-144C/D Challenger (4/4, 100% โœ…)

โ€ฃ 144618 may be out for maintenance. They haven't flown in just ten days, but the pace of the rest is frantic.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b369,cโ€ฆ
#412Sqn #8WingTrenton Image
Read 12 tweets
Let me understand this really well, ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #NORAD QRA fighters didn't shoot down the ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Chinese spy balloon in American, then Canadian, then American airspace? ๐Ÿ˜‚

YOU HAD ONE JOB.

๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ
They flew right through the #ADIZ that the media get their bloomers in a bunch about when the Russians fly antiques through, and VIOLATED American and Canadian airspace, which the Russians never do, and the Chinese continue to do; did I get that right? What a bunch of bullsh!t.
I suspect the #USAF are flying their own spy drones over China on the regular, without the public's knowledge, in full view of the Chinese military, and they're terrified the Chinese will start shooting them out of the sky if they shoot down the balloon.
Read 31 tweets
"The operation involved (...) supporting and operating four F-35s, three CF-18s, four KC-135s, one CC-150, one E-3, and one CH-149."

Okay, let's add them up. ๐Ÿงต
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ #USAF E-3 Sentry 83-0009 #AE11F2 #CACHE50

Flights identified using #ADSBexchange
2023-01-18
2023-01-19

dvidshub.net/image/7608860/โ€ฆ
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-149 Cormorant 149902 #C2B107 deployed from #14WingGreenwood on 2023-01-11, headed to to Iqaluit, in preparation for #NORAD Operation #NobleDefender.

The operation was from the 15th to the 31st, true, but preparations started before that.
Read 4 tweets
While this article is 5 years old, and likely out of date regarding the operations that are being carried out from Keflavik ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ, it makes it clear to me that the "rotational" deployments of large numbers of #USNavy P-8A Poseidon and #RCAF CP-140 Aurora aircraft are a #NATO mission
It's also clear that #RCAF and #USNavy operations out of NAS Keflavik ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ and NAS Sigonella ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น are related, it's basically the same mission, the only difference is #Keflavik surges when the Russian Navy is brining a submarine through the GIUK gap, making a very obvious tell for us
In 2022 the #RCAF deployed to #Keflavik and different bases in the UK several times for patrols of the GIUK gap, with different CP-140 Aurora Block IV aircraft which seem quite popular.

However, the Gov't of Canada won't talk about it, nor will #NATO Public Affairs.
Read 4 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Where is the #RCAF today?
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-177 Globemaster III (4/5, 80% โœ…)

โ€ฃ 177701 just got back from Haiti
โ€ฃ 177702 is somewhere on the other side of the planet
โ€ฃ 177703 is still in San Antonio ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ (since August ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿ”ง)
โ€ฃ 177705 arrived in Bagotville yesterday

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b3ff,cโ€ฆ
#8WingTrenton #429Sqn Image
Whoops. Image
Read 15 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆโš”๏ธ Can we figure out which aircraft brought the #CANSOFCOM members back from Niger who were deployed on #OpNABERIUS ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ?
If the person in charge was trying to be nice they would have sent something comfortable, like a CC-150 Polaris... did they? Let's look.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b355,cโ€ฆ
I checked back to 2022-11-01, and of course not; these are the elite Canadian ninjas of CANSOFCOM, they don't need to be comfortable.

Let's see if they stuffed them on the back of a CC-177 Globemaster III with their gear.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b3ff,cโ€ฆ
Read 7 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ It's hard to find more than one matching flight path near Tillsonburg (my back still aches when I hear that word) recently.

Maybe this is #RCAF CC-130H 130344 call sign #TIGR344 on 2022-12-05?

Not sure if @JRCCTrentCCCOS will confirm. ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ

inaccurate.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2afbd&lโ€ฆ
#C2AFBD
Here's your dose of Canadian content:

Stompin' Tom Connors - Tillsonburg
I think I need to look at the flight data again; this was from 2022-11-30

Read 6 tweets
1/10 PM @JustinTrudeau & #NATO @jensstoltenberg just visited #Canadaโ€™s biggest fighter jet base, CFB Cold Lake, in #Alberta. Canadians should know that the land for this @RCAF_ARC base & air weapons range was stolen from First Nations 70 years ago. bit.ly/3CxYLCb ๐Ÿงตโฌ‡๏ธ
2/From 1952-1960 Liberal govt gave minimal compensation to Dene & Cree peoples for taking land then stopped all payments. Loss of land had devastating consequences: poverty, despair & trauma. They lost traditional hunting grounds & sacred sites that were under Treaties 6, 8 & 10.
3/For 7 decades, all year long, Canadaโ€™s #fighterjets conduct loud, low-level flights over reserves & they bomb, strafe and torpedo #ColdLake Air Weapons Range, it's boreal #forest habitat for endangered #caribou. Land contaminated w/ munitions & toxins from military. @IENearth
Read 10 tweets
I've been tracking aircraft by exploiting their transponder emissions for years, and I still see new things every day. I'm only one of many of people who exploit open sources to tease out untold stories; some people moonlight, and for some it's their day job.
Everyone has their own unique interest. My desire is to show the public, and especially journalists, where the seam between publicly available information and the unknown exists. I have the impression most people don't know how much is at their fingertips in 2022.
The sort of analysis that would previously only be accessible to the intelligence community can be assembled by ordinary citizens with no military-specific training, just access to the right tools (Google Docs, Earth), and publicly available data.
Read 14 tweets
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Assessment of Royal Australian Air Force aircraft readiness (some of them anyway), extrapolating from their Mode-S transponder RF emissions, compiled 2022-07-03.

Aircraft that haven't flown in over a month are believed to be (temporarily?) out of service. #RAAF ImageImageImageImage
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ I'm using the same methodology as the #RCAF assessments I've published.

In comparison, please notice it's completely normal to have some (small) number of aircraft out of the pool for maintenance, almost all the time, for almost all aircraft.
Some of the identified aircraft haven't yet been delivered to the RAAF, so they're not actually *out* of service, they haven't yet come *into* service - I didn't want to make a new category, so I just recycled "out of service". Apologies for any confusion.
Read 4 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Latest assessment of CH-149 Cormorant distribution and readiness based on their Mode-S transponder emissions.

Summary:
โ€ฃ 3 at #CFBGreenwood
โ€ฃ 2 at #CFBGander
โ€ฃ 3 at #CFBComox

Meaning, 43% of the #RCAF CH-149 Cormorant helicopters are up on blocks.

#103Sqn #413Sqn #442Sqn
43% laid up and out of commission?

Is that bad?

It's not good.

Thankfully the Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade is underway, scheduled to be completely finished by 2028, but they haven't awarded the contract yet...
I thought it was Leonardo that couldn't follow basic instructions and misconfigured almost all their transponders in the #RCAF CH-149 Cormorant fleet, but that's none of my business, I could be wrong, and I haven't seen that investigation the RCAF promised either. ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ
Read 4 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ In June the #RCAF participated in a Search and Rescue exercise based out of Lajes, in The Azores, and for some reason didn't think the Canadian public wanted to know, so they didn't tell anyone anything.

It might have been part of #ASAREX #ASAREX22 #ASAREX2022, I can't tell.
Here is video, part of the exercise filmed by one of the locals. (h/t @Dapotayto1 for the link!)

[ โš ๏ธ I INCLUDED IMPRECISE DATA ON PURPOSE ]

I'm unclear when the exercise started or ended, but their call sign suggests they began to prepare in early June

#CFC2127
2022-06-06 Between Greenwood/Summerside
2022-06-15 Over the Bay of Fundy
2022-06-18 To Lajes
2022-06-19 To Lajes
Read 4 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ It should be pretty easy to prove the American-registered ISR aircraft conducting surveillance over Ottawa in late January and early February was not related to the convoy. A course plan? Any documentation re: booking the training?
(Skip ahead to 35:03)
A timeline of the "trucker" occupation of Ottawa from CTV ๐Ÿ‘‡
ctvnews.ca/canada/freedomโ€ฆ
2022-01-25
#N330TT appears out of nowhere over Metcalf at 3000ft, lands at #YOW; it made it that far without being detected by open source flight trackers. That's suspicious; private aircraft can't do that.
We know now it's a spook plane, not just private.
globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a3978a&lโ€ฆ
Read 28 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ The Royal Canadian Air Force participated in #ExREDFLAG 22-1 at #EielsonAFB, Alaska at the end of April. Did we see that when it happened?

The pictures weren't posted until today because OPSEC? ๐Ÿค”

I don't recall the #RCAF mentioning it at all; do you?
dvidshub.net/image/7172031/โ€ฆ
#401Sqn flies out of #4WingColdLake, we should see a refueller between the Alaska and Cold Lake around there. Possibly additional logistics flights for support staff.

FYI, I often do these threads without looking up if I can find something so you can see how the sausage is made.
If I start looking for where RCAF tankers were on 2022-04-01, we see the return flight by #4WingColdLake fighters from California, where they spend most of the winter because Cold Lake is.. well.. it's Cold, yo!

Notice they're using AR-4B to refuel on 2022-04-02.
#CFC3329
Read 11 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ When #RCAF #14WingGreenwood personnel misconfigure their plane's transponder with a placeholder to fill in a blank (12345677), it suggests they can't be bothered to look up the right value. If so, what else are they skipping, and how does that affect the aircraft's safety? ImageImageImage
On 2022-04-27 the same #RCAF CC-130H aircraft, now correctly configured, flew again, showing personnel at #14WingGreenwood can configure a CC-130H Mode-S transponder properly, eventually.
How many days will it be before the same mistake is made again?

#C2AFB3 โ‰  #29CBBF
#TSKR343 Image
Last time it was about three weeks before someone was struck with amnesia.

Read 5 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Tonight? Why wait? You get the latest now

Corroborating the report by @alexboutilier @MercedesGlobal @davidbaxter_ , of @globalnews open source flight data confirms the #RCAF flight flew into Kyiv (not Lviv) direct from Valcartier; callsign #CFC4186.

ImageImageImageImage
For the record, it was #RCAF CC-150 15003, which departed on 2022-01-08 (UTC) and returned to #8WingTrenton on 2022-01-11.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2b3b9&lโ€ฆ Image
You can even follow the whole fleet, if you like.

twitter.com/i/events/12973โ€ฆ
Read 5 tweets
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒโ˜ข๏ธ Nuclear-capable #USAF F-15E Strike Eagles, from Seymour Johnson AFB, NC ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฒ have been forward-deployed to Romania ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด.

The Legacy of the 335th Fighter Squadron shows they've been involved in expeditionary ground-attack rolls for decades, not so much combat air patrols. ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ
Don't just take MY word for it. ๐Ÿ‘‡

"...the mission of the 335th Fighter Squadron is to be prepared to deploy anywhere in the world on short notice and deliver an array of air-to-ground weapons with pinpoint accuracy."

Source: The United States Air Force

seymourjohnson.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-โ€ฆ
I'm not sure how many of the #USAF 335th's 24 F-15E Strike Eagles were forward-deployed to #Romania.

"The squadron is currently authorized 24 F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft and approximately 360 officer and enlisted personnel."

Source ๐Ÿ‘‡
seymourjohnson.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-โ€ฆ
Read 7 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Why don't we make a list of the locations and planes so people can click a map and see where the plane or helicopter is they're looking to spot? We can do that. #CanadaRemembers 1/n
2/n This will also shows the @RCAF_ARC that the public can benefit from the #RCAF using Mode-S and ADS-B in Canadian domestic airspace, even if the rest of the country's antiquated infrastructure doesn't *need* it, we can use it, and they can do it, right now.
Nova Scotia
Bridgewater CP-140
Chelsea CP-140
Cole Harbour CH-148
Dartmouth CH-148
Eastern Passage CH-148
Lunenburg CH-148
Mahone Bay CP-140
New Germany CP-140
Parkdale CP-140

New Brunswick
McAdam CH-146

Ontario
Arnprior CH-147F
Ottawa CF-188
Toronto CC-130J
Whitby CC-130J
Read 15 tweets
Kick back, this is an OSINT treat: ๐Ÿฟ

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ #RCAF CC-144D Challenger 144620 (one of the new ones) departed #Ottawa #CYOW on 2021-09-26 with callsign #CFC3080, very likely carrying General Wayne Eyre, the acting Chief of the Defence Staff.

globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=c2c1fb&lโ€ฆ

#C2C1FB #CDS Image
After a brief stop in Prestwick ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ, they flew to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Constanta ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด, and used the same callsign the whole trip. Image
Read 5 tweets
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ The #RCAF #14WingGreenwood newsletter "The Aurora" is really well done; newsletters feel pre-digital to me, but I'm not anti-newsletter. I can't help but read these articles about #413SQN #SAR and know they'd make fantastic Twitter content.

auroranewspaper.com
If #14WingGreenwood was interested in publicising the tempo of their SAR operations w/ @hfxjrcc they could investigate transmitting ADS-B from their CH-149, CC-130H, and other aircraft. Mode-S alone doesn't transmit lat/lon, and reduces public visibility of their operations.
Yes, I'd love them to start using ADS-B with the CP-140M Block 4 fleet too, but I don't think they're going to improve the visibility of our sub-hunters, which are extremely busy on ops and exercises, and hardly ever mentioned in the news.
Read 4 tweets

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