Comment by neilv
2 years ago
Impressive. Though, for one of the examples, set in an area with active military conflict, I wondered whether the information is new and useful to anyone involved.
2 years ago
Impressive. Though, for one of the examples, set in an area with active military conflict, I wondered whether the information is new and useful to anyone involved.
Nah. This data is all publicly available already and easily accessible for any motivated nation state. Who, if they're in the area, would also be able to use their own receivers and radars in any case.
Military planes that show up on ADS-B do so for either of the two reasons (or both):
a) to make civilian air traffic control life easier
b) as (strategic) signalling - this applies for example to NATO tankers and electronic intelligence platforms flying over the Eastern Flank.
Remember, you want your opponent to know how you can potentially hurt them if things go bad, that's the basis of deterrence. This is why for example certain aspects of nuclear weapon systems are completely out in the public.
Yes, though there's also another reason:
c) Safety, being open about the flightpaths of tankers and intelligence-gathering aircraft flying in international airspace near those areas reduces the ability of Russia to claim they weren't informed or that the aircraft strayed into restricted airspace. That means a lower probability of incidents, though it's still not completely safe as demonstrated in 2022: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66798508