The U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is reportedly seeking technological solutions to keep the flights of their special operations units hidden from public view. In a procurement document obtained by The Intercept, the military organization calls for a “‘Big Data’ Analysis & Feedback Tool” to help assess how much scrutiny a given plane has received and the likelihood of it being linked to the military through online data.
Key Points:
- JSOC is particularly concerned about social media “tail watchers” and other online observers who might identify mystery planes as military flights. Their proposed software would use historical and real-time data to mitigate this risk.
- This tool wouldn’t fake or anonymize flight data but instead aims to allow sensitive military flights to blend into regular traffic, akin to an undercover police vehicle.
- Public availability of midair transponder data has allowed various groups, from hobbyist plane trackers to journalists and researchers, to follow the movements of powerful entities and individuals.
- The JSOC’s call for this tool came six months after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, controversially banned Twitter accounts sharing the movements of his private jet, citing security concerns.
- This technology request is part of a larger list of desired technologies by JSOC, and it underscores a broader military effort to minimize the visibility of its flights.
Source: https://theintercept.com/2023/07/18/military-plane-flight-tracking/
