Mid-Atlantic MilAir 2024

[wickedjane]

OT, but CENTCOM released a statement regarding recent strikes conducted in Yemen. The B-2 was specifically included in the statement as a participant in the strikes.
View attachment 170976

USSTRATCOM posted also a statement regarding the B-2 Spirit airstrikes this week. Well the fact that CENTCOM mentioned the B-2 is because the airstrikes took part at the CENTCOM AOR. In 2017 USSTRACOM and USAFRICOM mentioned the B-2 Spirit airstrikes in Libya. The BTF deployments are mandatory, they ensure the aircrew is up to date with Long Range airstrikes and familiar with different environments. I somehow find it strange how the OSINT community this time was muted. No callsigns reported and no Tanker aircraft noted. Kind of sad to be honest. It is possible that the B-2's have flown from Whiteman to Whiteman AFB instead of returning back, because they use the jetstream which is way more efficient in terms of fuel and time (AirIndia tried that out, from New Delhi to LAX from the east direction). I noted Multiple KC-135 near Oman, and an E-6B Mercury off the coast of San Diego working for 10 hours (possibly communicating with the B-2's. Workups for this airstrike started back in 2023 when B-2 conducted a CONUS GPM to the UK. Spirit of America had to divert to RAF Fairford while the other B-2 Spirit returned back to Whiteman AFB. Last week a B-52 did a CONUS GPM to the UK. Perhaps the Chain of Command, based on a variety of calculations, opted for the B-2 instead. Feel free to ask me about serial numbers and callsigns.

 

[Mark]

Speaking of Stratcom it is time for another Global Thunder 25 exercise..

U.S. Strategic Command to Commence Exercise Global Thunder 25

U.S. Strategic Command will commence its annual nuclear command and control exercise, Global Thunder, Oct. 18, 2024.Global Thunder 25 involves personnel throughout the USSTRATCOM enterprise,

www.stratcom.mil

Always starts slow for a few days but eventually gets busy. Time to dust off the HF R75 Icom radio and listen.
We should spot a couple bomber deployments and lots of Navy E-6B's as well..
They mention NATO and UK as partners in this exercise so may be good for us on East Coast.

Yesterday noticed NY ANG SKIER,74,75 enroute McClellan Airfield in Cal but now seems SKIER-75 #83-0492 starting back East today..
SKIER's 71,72,73 pushed off for Hawaii yesterday.

 

[mdmonitor]

USSTRATCOM posted also a statement regarding the B-2 Spirit airstrikes this week. Well the fact that CENTCOM mentioned the B-2 is because the airstrikes took part at the CENTCOM AOR. In 2017 USSTRACOM and USAFRICOM mentioned the B-2 Spirit airstrikes in Libya. The BTF deployments are mandatory, they ensure the aircrew is up to date with Long Range airstrikes and familiar with different environments. I somehow find it strange how the OSINT community this time was muted. No callsigns reported and no Tanker aircraft noted. Kind of sad to be honest. It is possible that the B-2's have flown from Whiteman to Whiteman AFB instead of returning back, because they use the jetstream which is way more efficient in terms of fuel and time (AirIndia tried that out, from New Delhi to LAX from the east direction). I noted Multiple KC-135 near Oman, and an E-6B Mercury off the coast of San Diego working for 10 hours (possibly communicating with the B-2's. Workups for this airstrike started back in 2023 when B-2 conducted a CONUS GPM to the UK. Spirit of America had to divert to RAF Fairford while the other B-2 Spirit returned back to Whiteman AFB. Last week a B-52 did a CONUS GPM to the UK. Perhaps the Chain of Command, based on a variety of calculations, opted for the B-2 instead. Feel free to ask me about serial numbers and callsigns.

Would like to know the freqs & callsigns used.

 

[mdmonitor]

Interesting note. Today, Tester 25 (Tex-2 # 166075) NTPS) was showing on ADS-B as RFNK755 (Ruffneck?)

 

[jsoergel]

Interesting note. Today, Tester 25 (Tex-2 # 166075) NTPS) was showing on ADS-B as RFNK755 (Ruffneck?)

TW-4 FITU out of Corpus Christi.

 

[john8436]

MC-130j 08-6206 193rd SOS on a long flight today with a AR with a STEEL tanker and than T&G out to Wright-Patterson AFB. After they departed Wright-Pat MC-130J 22-5989 departed Wright-PAT in the same flight path as 08-6206.

I am betting that MC-130j 22-5989 AE6D88 is the 193rd SOS's new airframe!!!

 

[dmi]

That freq is also in the Ham band so maybe amateur radio.. I get a Ham radio FM repeater at times locally here on 225.400.
Another spectacular full moon rising tonight

1.25-meter band - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The 1.25 meter ham band ends at 225.000 MHz which means that the transmit frequency for hams would have to be less than 225.0 MHz

Maybe repeater on 224.4?

 

[mdmonitor]

1555- Exec1F (C-37 # 06-0500) off ADW heading for ILG.

 

[hrspotter]

1503L - Unid chatter on 236.35 "You just offended them by calling them Chambers Strip"

1600L - F-35 (?) on ADSB into KFLI Langley from somewhere.

 

[mdmonitor]

MC-130j 08-6206 193rd SOS on a long flight today with a AR with a STEEL tanker and than T&G out to Wright-Patterson AFB. After they departed Wright-Pat MC-130J 22-5989 departed Wright-PAT in the same flight path as 08-6206.

I am betting that MC-130j 22-5989 AE6D88 is the 193rd SOS's new airframe!!!

Think you're right. 22-5989 is now landing at KMDT.

 

[mdmonitor]

1630- ADS-B showing Reach 636 (C-17 # 93-0602) on ground at ACY maybe getting ready to depart. Rare to see Reach flts out of ACY

 

[AirScan]

1600L - F-35 (?) on ADSB into KFLI Langley from somewhere.

LiveATC. Callsign sounded like TIGER 33, stated they had an Emergency (note the 7700 squawk code). Traffic on other frequencies blocked out any more info. They went and added the Norfolk Approach frequencies to the Langley Tower feed so now a lot of Langley traffic is getting blocked out by the very busy approach frequencies.

 

[Mark]

Rare West Coast C-130J landing at Martin State.. 06-1467 Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware
OCAN50 assume callsign Ocean-50 #06-1467 inbound from Ventura County. 146th Airlift Wing - Wikipedia
Tail bands usually say Channel Islands from 146AW They double as MAFFS firefighter type as well.

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10301182

 

[Mark]

Couple of Western US KC-135's seem to be staging at Pease tonight.
FIAT-23 #58-0027 Utah ANG inbound now.
FIAT-22 #60-0323 940ARW Beale AFB on the way too.
More than likely a FIAT-21 will show sometime
Sounds like special mission Altrav callsign for Western US fighters RTB.

There go the FIATS tracking Northeast... FIAT-21 is #16-46013. Maybe for the E-4B rtb to Offutt?
I think FIAT is a US ACC tanker callsign like PICO etc. Second or 3rd time this year assigned with various tanker units.

 

[john8436]

Think you're right. 22-5989 is now landing at KMDT.

Callsign was ZIPPO99

 

[wickedjane]

USSTRATCOM posted also a statement regarding the B-2 Spirit airstrikes this week. Well the fact that CENTCOM mentioned the B-2 is because the airstrikes took part at the CENTCOM AOR. In 2017 USSTRACOM and USAFRICOM mentioned the B-2 Spirit airstrikes in Libya. The BTF deployments are mandatory, they ensure the aircrew is up to date with Long Range airstrikes and familiar with different environments. I somehow find it strange how the OSINT community this time was muted. No callsigns reported and no Tanker aircraft noted. Kind of sad to be honest. It is possible that the B-2's have flown from Whiteman to Whiteman AFB instead of returning back, because they use the jetstream which is way more efficient in terms of fuel and time (AirIndia tried that out, from New Delhi to LAX from the east direction). I noted Multiple KC-135 near Oman, and an E-6B Mercury off the coast of San Diego working for 10 hours (possibly communicating with the B-2's. Workups for this airstrike started back in 2023 when B-2 conducted a CONUS GPM to the UK. Spirit of America had to divert to RAF Fairford while the other B-2 Spirit returned back to Whiteman AFB. Last week a B-52 did a CONUS GPM to the UK. Perhaps the Chain of Command, based on a variety of calculations, opted for the B-2 instead. Feel free to ask me about serial numbers and callsigns.

Would like to know the freqs & callsigns used.

Yes sir, However I have almost no frequencies. Past week i noticed a HUGE build up/movement in tankers across the CENTCOM AOR. Past week a B-52H Stratofortress made a CONUS GPM from Minot AFB, ND, to RAF Holbeach Weapons training range in the UK, and returned back to Minot AFB. Callsign was TURF12 Serial Number was 60-0018 with the POW/MIA nose art. I tracked the BUFF on AirNav Radarbox. On 16th October 2024, I listened to the Santa Maria Oceanic feed on LiveATC at 10am GMT the feed was shut down. Then 6 hours later back online. This is not the first time audio feeds are being taken from LiveATC. I experienced the same while tracking a B-52 this summer flying from Romania to the Persian Gulf. The Bahrain feed on LiveATC was taken down. However 6-8 Air Mobility Command and 4 ANG KC-135 Stratotankers were heading to California, Travis AFB and March ARB. The AMC ones were flying from MacDill AFB and Fairchild AFB. I think some were assigned to receive the B-2 coming from the other end from their strike sorties, while the others were assigned to take part in the Global Thunder exercise. I monitored them on AirNav Radarbox. The E-6B flew from Tinker AFB to the West coast and worked there multiple hours, total flight time was 9h and 6mins. It returned back to Tinker AFB. Callsign was RING94 and the serial number was 164409 based on AirNav Radarbox. But here are the most important ones, the KC-135's near Oman i have seen on AirNav Radarbox. And I am 100% sure they were part of the B-2 airstrikes taking place from 16th to 17th October. There were 5 KC-135's in total near Oman, however they were quick to DELETE ALL OF THEM from AirNav Radarbox. 60-0318 Squawking 3746. Another one was a KC-135 from Milwaukee featuring a nose art, was not fast enough to write down the serial number of it and the rest of the Tanker package supporting the B-2's. Another KC-135 that acted a bit of a support tanker was Tail#64-14837. Departed on Oct. 16th with no callsign from Mildenhall to Souda Bay, and from Souda Bay it took off in the late evening of Oct. 16th. Shortly after takeoff it turned ADS-B off. Guys I did my best. All the good intel gathering platforms and OSINT boys and gals were sleeping. So I wanted to give you the most useful information I could gather from the internet regarding the B-2 airstrikes that took part from October 16-17.

 

[Mark]

Yes sir, However I have almost no frequencies. Past week i noticed a HUGE build up/movement in tankers across the CENTCOM AOR. Past week a B-52H Stratofortress made a CONUS GPM from Minot AFB, ND, to RAF Holbeach Weapons training range in the UK, and returned back to Minot AFB. Callsign was TURF12 Serial Number was 60-0018 with the POW/MIA nose art. I tracked the BUFF on AirNav Radarbox. On 16th October 2024, I listened to the Santa Maria Oceanic feed on LiveATC at 10am GMT the feed was shut down. Then 6 hours later back online. This is not the first time audio feeds are being taken from LiveATC. I experienced the same while tracking a B-52 this summer flying from Romania to the Persian Gulf. The Bahrain feed on LiveATC was taken down. However 6-8 Air Mobility Command and 4 ANG KC-135 Stratotankers were heading to California, Travis AFB and March ARB. The AMC ones were flying from MacDill AFB and Fairchild AFB. I think some were assigned to receive the B-2 coming from the other end from their strike sorties, while the others were assigned to take part in the Global Thunder exercise. I monitored them on AirNav Radarbox. The E-6B flew from Tinker AFB to the West coast and worked there multiple hours, total flight time was 9h and 6mins. It returned back to Tinker AFB. Callsign was RING94 and the serial number was 164409 based on AirNav Radarbox. But here are the most important ones, the KC-135's near Oman i have seen on AirNav Radarbox. And I am 100% sure they were part of the B-2 airstrikes taking place from 16th to 17th October. There were 5 KC-135's in total near Oman, however they were quick to DELETE ALL OF THEM from AirNav Radarbox. 60-0318 Squawking 3746. Another one was a KC-135 from Milwaukee featuring a nose art, was not fast enough to write down the serial number of it and the rest of the Tanker package supporting the B-2's. Another KC-135 that acted a bit of a support tanker was Tail#64-14837. Departed on Oct. 16th with no callsign from Mildenhall to Souda Bay, and from Souda Bay it took off in the late evening of Oct. 16th. Shortly after takeoff it turned ADS-B off. Guys I did my best. All the good intel gathering platforms and OSINT boys and gals were sleeping. So I wanted to give you the most useful information I could gather from the internet regarding the B-2 airstrikes that took part from October 16-17.

Thanks for OSINT Intel guesswork but we are just a mostly local group who watch Mid Atlantic for milcoms and don't get into
detailed overseas missions.. I think you had too much coffee as well
If you get interesting tie ups to our local group then that is fine but we don't need all that info Thank you
RadioReference has has separate Milcom group for that stuff.

BTW seems Warzone has updated their page to indicate B-2's came from Australia as some here had already guessed

Two of the FIAT tankers working way back down AR-20. Assume they hit the E-4B. AF-1 and backup out in front.

 

[BM82557]

92-9000 and 82-8000 heading for Andrews on adsb , 9000 currently west of NYC and 8000 over Albany at 1905 local

 

[Mark]

Seems a VIP visitor to local Amish Country Sunday afternoon just posted.
I'm thinking Pennsylvania can't wait till election season is over

4/1083 NOTAM Details

 

[wickedjane]

Thanks for OSINT Intel guesswork but we are just a mostly local group who watch Mid Atlantic for milcoms and don't get into
detailed overseas missions.. I think you had too much coffee as well
If you get interesting tie ups to our local group then that is fine but we don't need all that info Thank you

BTW seems Warzone has updated their page to indicate B-2's came from Australia as some here had already guessed

Two of the FIAT tankers working way back down AR-20. Assume they hit the E-4B. AF-1 and backup out in front.

Thank you for the clarification. You are absoloutely right. From now on I will not go into specifics and only post topics realted to this thread. Thank you for the update!