Live · military aircraft
Military flight tracker: what's broadcasting right now
Right now 64 military and government aircraft are broadcasting a position worldwide, 23 of them over the United States: 2 tankers, 22 transports, 8 helicopters and 32 others, as of .
- Broadcasting worldwide
- 64
- Over the US
- 23
- In the air
- 62
- Heard, no position
- 47
Live military aircraft
By type
Where
| Callsign | Type | Category | Altitude | Speed | Over | Heard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCH4565 | C-17 Globemaster III C17 | Transports | 30,000 ft | 438 kt | Wisconsin, United States | |
| AEEFBB | Unlisted | Other or unlisted types | 28,000 ft | 325 kt | Georgia, United States | |
| BLZR266 | BAE Hawk HAWK | Trainers | 28,000 ft | 292 kt | North Carolina, United States | |
| BLZR245 | BAE Hawk HAWK | Trainers | 27,975 ft | 301 kt | North Carolina, United States | |
| DERBY82 | C-130J Super Hercules C30J | Transports | 26,000 ft | 296 kt | Indiana, United States | |
| AE68AD | Dornier 328 (C-146) D328 | Transports | 23,925 ft | 313 kt | Massachusetts, United States | |
| POSSE09 | C-130 Hercules C130 | Transports | 22,900 ft | 344 kt | Montana, United States | |
| DERBY83 | C-130J Super Hercules C30J | Transports | 21,325 ft | 310 kt | Kentucky, United States | |
| HAWK294 | Unlisted | Other or unlisted types | 12,775 ft | 332 kt | Texas, United States | |
| HAWK278 | BAE Hawk HAWK | Trainers | 9,950 ft | 256 kt | Texas, United States | |
| C2706 | C-27J Spartan C27J | Transports | 9,750 ft | 252 kt | Florida, United States | |
| BOMR741 | T-6 Texan II TEX2 | Trainers | 8,875 ft | 251 kt | Texas, United States | |
| BOMR776 | T-6 Texan II TEX2 | Trainers | 8,875 ft | 292 kt | Texas, United States | |
| BB071 | T-6 Texan II TEX2 | Trainers | 8,375 ft | 187 kt | Alabama, United States | |
| RN113 | T-6 Texan II TEX2 | Trainers | 8,100 ft | 232 kt | Alabama, United States | |
| RN107 | T-6 Texan II TEX2 | Trainers | 5,650 ft | 170 kt | United States | |
| BB096 | T-6 Texan II TEX2 | Trainers | 5,525 ft | 230 kt | Alabama, United States | |
| 7422401 | UH1 | Helicopters and tiltrotors | 4,650 ft | 78 kt | Alabama, United States | |
| TALON15 | BAE Hawk HAWK | Trainers | 1,050 ft | 109 kt | Alabama, United States | |
| C6579 | AS365 Dauphin (MH-65) AS65 | Helicopters and tiltrotors | 300 ft | 85 kt | Florida, United States | |
| C6065 | H-60 Black Hawk or Seahawk H60 | Helicopters and tiltrotors | 150 ft | 90 kt | California, United States | |
| HAWK235 | BAE Hawk HAWK | Trainers | — | 338 kt | Texas, United States | |
| VADER08 | C-130 Hercules C130 | Transports | On the ground | 19 kt | Nevada, United States | |
| IAM1496 | Gulfstream V (C-37A) GLF5 | Government and VIP transport | 43,000 ft | 424 kt | North Atlantic Ocean | |
| SVF662 | GLEX | Other or unlisted types | 43,000 ft | 449 kt | Mediterranean Sea | |
| BAH11 | B738 | Other or unlisted types | 39,000 ft | 502 kt | United Arab Emirates | |
| MRS0303 | B738 | Other or unlisted types | 38,000 ft | 461 kt | Spain | |
| RRR2301 | Airbus A330 (military) A332 | Transports | 37,000 ft | 551 kt | Tyrrhenian Sea | |
| XBNWD | CL60 | Other or unlisted types | 36,000 ft | 437 kt | Zacatecas, Mexico | |
| IWY326 | Unlisted | Other or unlisted types | 36,000 ft | 431 kt | North Atlantic Ocean | |
| AE062C | KC-135R/T Stratotanker K35R | Tankers | 36,000 ft | 483 kt | Aegean Sea | |
| SAM207 | Boeing 737 (C-40 or similar) B737 | Transports | 35,000 ft | 428 kt | North Atlantic Ocean | |
| RCH5001 | C-5M Super Galaxy C5M | Transports | 34,000 ft | 410 kt | Netherlands | |
| ASY809 | C-17 Globemaster III C17 | Transports | 34,000 ft | 424 kt | Germany | |
| KAF3203 | C-17 Globemaster III C17 | Transports | 33,000 ft | 519 kt | Tyrrhenian Sea | |
| GAF708 | A21N | Government and VIP transport | 32,550 ft | 424 kt | Germany | |
| RCH4033 | C-5M Super Galaxy C5M | Transports | 32,000 ft | 434 kt | North Sea | |
| RRR4953 | Airbus A400M Atlas A400 | Transports | 32,000 ft | 348 kt | Germany | |
| CNV6614 | Boeing 737 (C-40 or similar) B737 | Transports | 31,225 ft | 524 kt | Italy | |
| BRIO66 | CL60 | Other or unlisted types | 31,000 ft | 362 kt | Romania | |
| RCH4163 | C-17 Globemaster III C17 | Transports | 30,000 ft | 444 kt | Bering Sea | |
| RCH9207 | C-17 Globemaster III C17 | Transports | 30,000 ft | 505 kt | Netherlands | |
| CTM2010 | Airbus A400M Atlas A400 | Transports | 29,975 ft | 368 kt | Hungary | |
| RCH313 | C-17 Globemaster III C17 | Transports | 29,000 ft | 448 kt | North Sea | |
| RUBIK33 | King Air 200 (C-12) BE20 | Utility and liaison | 28,000 ft | 243 kt | Croatia | |
| AE5FA6 | Boeing 767 (military) B762 | Transports | 27,500 ft | 594 kt | United Arab Emirates | |
| FAF9212 | King Air 350 (C-12 or MC-12) B350 | Utility and liaison | 24,000 ft | 303 kt | Hungary | |
| CFC2520 | C-130J Super Hercules C30J | Transports | 23,000 ft | 241 kt | Québec, Canada | |
| VM204 | King Air 350 (C-12 or MC-12) B350 | Utility and liaison | 22,000 ft | 266 kt | Germany | |
| AE0629 | KC-135R/T Stratotanker K35R | Tankers | 19,000 ft | 428 kt | Israel | |
| BOOSTER | HRON | Other or unlisted types | 18,800 ft | 92 kt | Israel | |
| IAM1490 | P180 | Other or unlisted types | 11,550 ft | 183 kt | Tyrrhenian Sea | |
| NATO42 | E-3 Sentry (AWACS) E3TF | Patrol, surveillance and command | 11,425 ft | 317 kt | North Sea | |
| 30532 | A148 | Other or unlisted types | 9,600 ft | 268 kt | Russia | |
| CTM1435 | Unlisted | Other or unlisted types | 9,325 ft | 251 kt | France | |
| MAI339 | EC35 | Helicopters and tiltrotors | 8,625 ft | 108 kt | Romania | |
| GAF830 | A319 | Government and VIP transport | 6,700 ft | 277 kt | Germany | |
| PNC0494 | B212 | Helicopters and tiltrotors | 6,125 ft | 94 kt | Colombia | |
| ANX1231 | DH8B | Other or unlisted types | 4,900 ft | 194 kt | Jalisco, Mexico | |
| SAVER50 | AW101 Merlin EH10 | Helicopters and tiltrotors | 4,425 ft | 145 kt | Norway |
And 4 more on the live map.
"Heard" is how long ago a receiver last picked up its position. Types come from the aircraft database; an aircraft we can't type is shown by its code or as unlisted.
Military aircraft on the live map
Free on the live map
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Activity over the last 7 days
Different military aircraft we saw broadcast a position each day (UTC), worldwide. The last seven days.
Most common types this week
Is there a flight tracker that shows military planes?
Yes, but only the military aircraft that switch on ADS-B, and many don't. Some trackers hide them; others show what is broadcast. This page shows every military and government aircraft broadcasting a position right now, live and free to read. On the live map, the Military layer adds trails, following and the 3D globe for Black Clearance members.
Why don't most military planes show up?
Military aircraft don't have to broadcast ADS-B when it would get in the way of a mission or security, so many fly with it off or send only a code without a position (the "heard, no position" number above). Others fly where no receiver can hear them. What any public tracker shows is a small, self-selected slice: mostly transports, tankers, helicopters and training flights near home bases.
Why are military planes flying over my house today?
Usually for routine reasons: training near a base, a low-level training route, a flyover for a game or ceremony, aircraft on their way to an air show, or transports moving between bases. Practice approaches and holding patterns can make jets circle. If it seems unusual, check the nearest base's news page or the FAA's flight restrictions list. To see what is above you now, try what's flying over me.
What do RCH and other military callsigns mean?
Callsigns tell controllers who is flying. "RCH", spoken "Reach", is used by US Air Force Air Mobility Command transports and tankers. Many other units use their own word plus numbers, and some change callsigns often. A callsign alone does not tell you the mission, so we sort aircraft by type, not by guessing from the callsign.
Which military aircraft broadcast most often?
In our log this week, the military types broadcasting most often were H60 (879 aircraft), TEX2 (467 aircraft), EC45 (259 aircraft). Transports and tankers fly long, routine legs through civil airspace, where ADS-B is normal, so they dominate every public tracker. Trainers and helicopters near their bases come next.
Can you track Air Force One or the doomsday plane?
Sometimes, when they broadcast. Our Air Force One tracker says whether the presidential VC-25A or the C-32A fleet is broadcasting now and when it last was, and the doomsday plane page does the same for the E-4B and E-6B.
Is it legal to track military aircraft?
In the US, receiving public radio broadcasts such as ADS-B is generally lawful, and many hobbyists do it. What matters is how the information is used. We publish only what aircraft broadcast openly, sort them by type, never guess where they are going, and hold back aircraft whose owners opted out of display. This isn't legal advice.
Our rules: what we show and what we hold back
- We show only what aircraft broadcast openly on 1090 MHz and volunteer receivers pick up. Nothing here is secret or hacked.
- Military and government aircraft that broadcast are shown live. Aircraft whose owners opted out of public display through the FAA's LADD or Privacy ICAO Address programmes never are.
- We never predict or infer where an aircraft or a person is going, and we don't label missions. Aircraft are sorted by type.
- We name aircraft, not people. Registrations and owners are not shown.
- If you think something here should not be, email [email protected].
How this page is built
Positions come from adsb.lol's open list of aircraft its volunteer receivers mark as military, the same list behind the app's Military layer. Our server reads it at most every few minutes and shares one copy with everyone. Each aircraft is placed in a category by its ICAO type code (helicopters by their ADS-B category), and its state, country or sea comes from public-domain Natural Earth boundaries. "Military" here means military or government: the address blocks and database flags include some state aircraft that are not strictly military.
Related
Last reviewed . Corrections: [email protected].
Live data can be late, incomplete or wrong. Not for navigation or safety decisions.
Flight positions: ADS-B and MLAT from the volunteer receivers of adsb.lol (ODbL 1.0) · Map and place names: Natural Earth (public domain). All data sources.