Recently, government surveillance has taken to the skies and raised serious concerns for privacy and civil liberties. Law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, CBP, DEA, and local police departments have deployed aircraft with advanced surveillance technology to monitor activities on the ground. This practice has grown increasingly sophisticated, prompting journalists, researchers, and citizen activists alike to investigate and track these “spy planes”.
Reddit’s r/conspiracy forum soon turned into front-page news with the Associated Press reporting it to mainstream media outlets; and this revelation led to demands from lawmakers like Senator Al Franken that an investigation be launched; though no concrete measures were taken as a result.
Types of Surveillance Aircraft
These surveillance aircraft, often disguised as belonging to front companies for maximum secrecy, come in various forms:
- Cessnas and Beechcraft aircraft are both light single-engine aircraft.
- Pilatus Aircraft are military-style Pilatus planes.
- Helicopters occupy both small and large drones on the market today.
These teams are equipped with sophisticated devices, such as Wescam systems from L3 Communications, FLIR SAFIRE cameras, IMSI catchers (for intercepting cell phone data), and other Law Enforcement Technical Collection (LETC) devices.
Documented Uses
Aircraft are increasingly used to monitor protests and criminal investigations, from following protesters at rallies to tracking suspects during criminal inquiries. One notable instance was when the Phoenix Police Department used a Pilatus aircraft to track U-Haul thieves; yet, most members of the public remain unaware of its extent or implications for privacy.
Tracing Sky Spies
Tackling “sky spies” presents an immense challenge. Aircraft registrations may change, while commercial surveillance technologies make it hard to differentiate law enforcement flights from civilian ones. Technical and operational requirements associated with surveillance missions result in distinct flight patterns that differ considerably from regular air traffic patterns.
Enter the world of ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast). As part of FAA’s NextGen program, more and more aircraft are becoming mandatory to utilize ADS-B technology, broadcasting information such as unique ICAO numbers, positions, and sometimes call signs to collectors who aggregate this data through services like FlightRadar24, FlightAware, or the ADS-B Exchange platform.
Identification of Surveillance Flights
Surveillance flights differ from commercial flights in their unique nature: unlike commercial planes which typically follow straight lines between destinations, surveillance aircraft frequently make multiple turns, hover over populated areas, take off and land at the same airport, takeoff/land at another nearby airport before eventually taking off again at their original starting point airport. They usually operate between 6,000-12,000 feet to balance the effectiveness of surveillance equipment with fuel efficiency regulations and aviation laws.
Researchers have developed methods to recognize potential surveillance flights by analyzing flight patterns. By calculating aircraft headings and scoring their turns – particularly those exceeding 90 degrees – researchers can detect suspicious flight activities. Eventually, this process will be automated to filter out non-surveillance flights such as aerial surveys or flight school training flights.
As surveillance technologies rapidly advance, policies and oversight struggle to keep up. The proliferation of spy planes raises important questions regarding public safety versus individual privacy. Furthermore, this highlights how open-source intelligence and citizen journalism can bring government activities to light.
Responding to these surveillance flights, researchers, activists, and tech enthusiasts have banded together to monitor them. By setting up ADS-B receivers and contributing data platforms or developing analysis tools they hope to increase transparency while prompting public discourse on aerial surveillance practices within law enforcement agencies.
