Thursday, December 12, 2013

Teak Publishing Adds Another New e-Publication to Their Growing Catalog

The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide is now available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/International-Shortwave-Broadcast-Winter-2013-2014-ebook/dp/B00H8X7LHM/.
 

 
“War Revives Shortwave Radio's Appeal: Communications: Many consumers, eager for news from the Persian Gulf are snapping up machines that fell out of fashion long ago.” – Los Angeles Times 1991

That LA Times headline above says it all about the appeal even today of a radio hobby that is over 80 years old – Shortwave Radio Listening.

So why shortwave radio? The best source of global information continues to be shortwave radio. Throughout the world, shortwave remains the most readily available and affordable means of communication and information. It lets you listen to voices from around the world. You'll also learn about the lives and concerns of people from all walks of life, from soldiers, to farmers, to retired scholars. It provides coverage nearly instantaneous of news and events from around the world.

If you live in the U.S., you can easily listen to shortwave broadcast stations from countries like North/South Korea, Iran, Australia, Cuba, China, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, Japan, England, Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States and many other counties if you have a good shortwave receiver, and you know when and where to listen!


The new International Shortwave Broadcast Guide by Gayle Van Horn W4GVH, is that all important information resource you need to tap into the worldwide shortwave broadcast radio spectrum. It is a 24 hour station/frequency guide to all the stations currently broadcasting on shortwave radio. This unique shortwave resource is the only publication that offers a by-hour schedule that includes all language services, frequencies and world target areas for each broadcast station.

This new e-publication is an expanded version of the English shortwave broadcast guide formerly printed in the pages of Monitoring Times magazine over the last 20 years. This one of a kind electronic e-book will now be published twice a year to correspond with station seasonal time and frequency changes.

If you enjoy listening or monitoring HF shortwave stations, and you miss the monthly English frequency listings formerly published in the late Monitoring Times magazine, and multilingual station listing in the old MTXpress electronic magazine, this valuable tool will now be your new guide to listening to the world.

Frequency updates between editions will be posted on her Shortwave Central blog at: http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/.

And, the good news is that you do not even need to own a Kindle reader to read Amazon e-book publications. You can read any Kindle book with Amazon’s free reading apps.

There are free Kindle reading apps for the Kindle Cloud Reader, Smartphones (iPhone, iTouch, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry); computer platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Mac); Tablets (iPad, Android and Windows 8), and, of course, all of the Kindle family of readers including the Kindle Fire series. A Kindle e-book allows you to buy your book once and read it anywhere. You can find additional details on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.

The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide is now available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/International-Shortwave-Broadcast-Winter-2013-2014-ebook/dp/B00H8X7LHM/.
 
The price for this Winter 2013-2014 edition is US$4.99. Since this book is being released internationally, Amazon customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, France Spain, Italy, Japan, India, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia can order this e-Book from Amazon websites directly servicing these countries. All other countries can use the regular Amazon.com website.

For additional information on this and other Teak Publishing radio hobby books, monitor the company sponsored Internet blogs – The Military Monitoring Post (http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/), The Btown Monitor Post (http://monitor-post.blogspot.com/) and The Shortwave Central (http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/) for availability of additional e-books that are currently in production.

You can view the complete Teak Publishing book catalog online at http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/. Click on the Teak Publishing radio hobby e-book link at the top of the blog page.

You can learn more about the author by going to her author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Gayle-Van-Horn/e/B0084MVQCM/.

The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide will have wide appeal to shortwave radio hobbyists, amateur radio operators, educators, foreign language students, news agencies, news buffs and many more interested in listening to a global view of news and events as they happen. 

If you are an amateur radio operator or shortwave radio enthusiasts, and want to hear what is happening outside the ham bands on that transceiver or portable shortwave radio in your shack, then this new e-book from Teak Publishing is a must in your radio reference library.

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 11 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC.

ADFCEF 94-0144   ---  2013-12-11 23:49:51 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
AE02E8 84-0205   ROGUE 39 2013-12-11 23:33:56 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
AE1211 03-0726   ---  2013-12-11 23:24:48 UC-35C United States USARC | 2-228 AVN    
ADFC69 90-0407   ---  2013-12-11 23:18:39 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
AE14F4 64-14855   ---  2013-12-11 23:12:04 HC-130P United States AFRC | 920RQW | 39RQS [KCOF]    
AE04AF 165741   ---  2013-12-11 23:01:47 UC-35 United States MAW-4    
AE1192 166474   ---  2013-12-11 22:51:27 UC-35D United States USMC | VMR-1 [KNKT]    
AE0413 164386   GOTO FMS 2013-12-11 21:38:10 E-6B United States USN | SCW-1 [KTIK]     
AE1192 166474   ---  2013-12-11 21:29:32 UC-35D United States USMC | VMR-1 [KNKT]    
AE02E1 81-0626   COBB 26 2013-12-11 21:28:28 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
AE4E0D 11-5740   ---  2013-12-11 19:22:52 C-130J United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE4E0D 11-5740   ---  2013-12-11 18:25:31 C-130J United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE4EB8 168434   ---  2013-12-11 16:49:37 P-8A United States USN | VP-30 [KNIP]    
ADFCD8 94-0121   ---  2013-12-11 16:19:30 T-1A United States USAF | 12FTW | 99FTS [KRND]    
ADFC96 92-0341   ---  2013-12-11 16:08:16 T-1A United States USAF | 12FTW | 99FTS [KRND]    
AE02E1 81-0626   COBB 26 2013-12-11 15:42:13 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
AE0576 86-0025   ---  2013-12-11 15:37:21 C-5M United States USAF | 436AW | 9AS [KDOV]    
AE0265 57-1436   SODA81 2013-12-11 15:27:09 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE10BF 01-0196   ---  2013-12-11 15:19:39 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
AE1445 05-3145   PETRA22 2013-12-11 15:19:33 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE0265 57-1436   SODA81 2013-12-11 14:08:28 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE1BF1 07-4638   PETRA23 2013-12-11 10:56:53 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE12BB 69-5828   FLIP33 2013-12-11 01:53:36 MC-130P United States USAF | 1SOW | 9SOS [KHRT]    
AE29DD 08-3173   ---  2013-12-11 01:39:36 C-130J United States USAF | 317AG [KDYS]    
AE1BF5 07-6312   PETRA21 2013-12-11 01:20:25 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE1494 97-0100   PEACH98 2013-12-11 01:04:12 E-8C United States GA ANG | 116ACW [KWRB]
ADFC6B 90-0408   ---  2013-12-11 00:00:06 T-1A United States USAF | 71FTW | 32FTS [KEND]    

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Bataan ARG Begins Composite Training Unit Exercise

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gary Prill
ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Sailors from the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) and Marines from 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) departed Naval Station Norfolk for a two-week underway in order to complete Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) off the East Coast of the United States.

COMPTUEX affords the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group the ability to interact with other ships including the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group and smaller ships like the guided-missile destroyers USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), USS Truxtun (DDG 103) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), among others.

During the exercise each ship will be assessed on command and control techniques, situational response, and a series of scenario-driven exercises including anti-submarine warfare, electronic warfare and maritime interdiction operations aimed at integrating the ships with the rest of the strike group.

Each scenario tests a different aspect of each ship's ability to face the possible challenges the strike group and the support ships might face while operating in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet area of responsibilities. Sailors will be testing nearly every action involved in the normal operation of a Navy vessel at sea, to include intelligence collections and response, visit board search and seizure, along with air and surface defense.

This exercise will test nearly every Sailor aboard the ship in one method or another. And testing will be the last step to fully certify and prepare Bataan for its upcoming deployment scheduled for early 2014.

"These exercises are extremely important for our Sailors and the ship while preparing for deployment; we need to knock this out of the park," said Bataan Command Master Chief Kevin M. Goodrich. "The evolutions we will see during the exercise are the same scenarios currently deployed ships are seeing in their normal operations. "

This exercise is scheduled as the last underway for Bataan's Amphibious Ready Group prior to her deployment and the last opportunity for the ships in her group to interact in a training environment prior to be tested by actual foreign interactions throughout the world.

HSC-25 Detachments 1 and 6 Return from Deployment

By Senior Airman Marianique Santos, 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE (NNS) -- Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 Det.1 and Det. 6 returned to Guam Dec. 9 after completing a seven-month and nine-month deployment, respectively.

Det. 1 completed its deployment on board USNS Amelia Earheart (T-AKE-6) and USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10), where they supported the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, Command Task Force 70 and Destroyer Squadron 15. Det. 1 moved a total of 6.4 million pounds of cargo and 121 passengers during fiscal year 2013.

"Detachment 1 came home with the most qualifications I have ever seen in my career," said Cmdr. Gregory Leland, HSC-25 commanding officer. "These detachments were some of the most successful detachments I have ever seen."

Both detachments supported operations throughout the Pacific. Along with supporting Australian naval vessels during combined Exercise Talisman Saber 2013, the detachments supported Operation Damayan a U.S. humanitarian aid and disaster relief effort to support the Philippines in the wake of the devastating effects of Supertyphoon Haiyan.

"While on Charles Drew, we helped out in Tacloban by providing food stores, water and fuel," said Lt. James Aguirre, HSC-25 Det. 1 pilot. "We were the first ship on scene, and as soon as we got there, we started moving gallons of water to shore. The following days, we ran water to outlying areas where people had signs on the top of their houses. We ran supplies all over the place and helped as best we could."

During Det. 6's nine-month deployment aboard USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), the crew supported 7th Fleet in the Western Pacific Area of Responsibility. The Sailors flew more than 1,300 hours, moved 2.5 million pounds of cargo and transferred 959 passengers. In addition, they also conducted six medical evacuations and four searches resulting in one rescue.

"We had a lot of challenges, one of them being away from the family," said Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class (AW) Thomas Ridgway. "We got bounced all over the place and had the opportunity to do a lot of great things, but it's amazing to be back with my family, so I'm looking forward to spending time with them."

With the return of Det. 6, the next rotation of aircrews deployed Dec. 2 to continue the mission of providing logistical support, search-and-rescue capabilities and humanitarian assistance in the Pacific.

"I want to thank the detachment that we sent off to relieve the team from the Bonhomme Richard," Leland said. "I also want to thank the spouse groups, the family readiness folks and ombudsmen who help us keep the balance in the families back home while the detachments are fighting a good fight. We look forward to continuing the successful trend in the near future."

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 10 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC.

ADFD03 95-0055   ---  2013-12-10 23:41:42 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
AE117B 02-1109   SNTRY61H 2013-12-10 23:22:58 C-17A United States USAF | 62AW [KTCM]    
ADFEBE 96-0108   ---  2013-12-10 23:14:49 UC-35a1 United States US Army | OSACOM PAT [KADW?]    
AE02E4 81-0629   COBB62 2013-12-10 22:24:54 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]
AE02E2 81-0627   COBB27 2013-12-10 22:18:24 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
ADFD7D 91-0513   ---  2013-12-10 22:15:36 C-26D United States SC ARNG |OSACOM DET-24    
 70C08D 505   ---  2013-12-10 21:56:01 C-130J Oman 16sqn(Oman)    
AE1192 166474   ---  2013-12-10 21:52:57 UC-35D United States USMC | VMR-1 [KNKT]    
AE0806 99-0060   RHINO90 2013-12-10 21:28:06 C-17A United States AFRC | 445AW | 89AS [KFFO]    
AE1196 03-3113   ---  2013-12-10 21:20:57 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
 70C08D 505   ---  2013-12-10 21:15:16 C-130J Oman 16sqn(Oman)    
ADFD7D 91-0513   ---  2013-12-10 20:01:42 C-26D United States SC ARNG |OSACOM DET-24    
AE0171 84-0079   SPAR721 2013-12-10 19:30:55 C-21A United States USAF | 110WG | 172AS [KBTL]
AE1494 97-0100   PEACH91 2013-12-10 19:26:20 E-8C United States GA ANG | 116ACW [KWRB]
AE0627 62-3512   UPSET33 2013-12-10 19:23:25 KC-135R United States WI ANG | 128ARW | 126ARS [KMKE]    
ADFD03 95-0055   ---  2013-12-10 19:00:15 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
ADFD03 95-0055   ---  2013-12-10 18:33:16 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
AE0470 57-1428   SODA33 2013-12-10 17:08:03 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
ADFDC8 93-1562   EPIC20 2013-12-10 17:06:24 C-130H United States NC ANG | 145AW | 156AS [KCLT]    
AE01BD 84-0131   PACER09 2013-12-10 16:43:50 C-21A United States USAF | 375AW | 457AS [KADW]    
ADFDC8 93-1562   EPIC20 2013-12-10 16:42:54 C-130H United States NC ANG | 145AW | 156AS [KCLT]    
ADFD7D 91-0513   ---  2013-12-10 16:34:35 C-26D United States SC ARNG |OSACOM DET-24    
 00000A Various   ---  2013-12-10 07:23:17 Various Various ---    
AE02E7 84-0204   ---  2013-12-10 03:20:01 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
AE1488 86-0416   PEACH98 2013-12-10 02:37:15 TE-8a United States 330thCTS    
AE1196 03-3113   @PPAA@@J 2013-12-10 01:42:12 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE1196 03-3113   @PPAA@DD 2013-12-10 01:42:12 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE1196 03-3113   @PPIB @J 2013-12-10 01:42:12 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE1196 03-3113   @PPIB DD 2013-12-10 01:42:12 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE1196 03-3113   BP@AA@@J 2013-12-10 01:42:12 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE1196 03-3113   BP@IB DD 2013-12-10 01:42:12 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE1488 86-0416   PEACH98 2013-12-10 01:04:18 TE-8a United States 330thCTS    

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

China holds war games near Korean border


Bill Gertz is reporting on the The Washington Free Beacon that
China’s military is holding large-scale military maneuvers near the North Korean border amid new signs of political instability in Pyongyang.

U.S. military intelligence assets in Asia—including satellites, aircraft and ships—are monitoring the war games by the 39th Army Group that are part of the Shenyang military region.

A defense official said the war games are routine winter training and do not appear related to the ouster of No. 2 North Korean leader Jang Song Thaek, confirmed by the Pyongyang regime Sunday night.

You can read the rest of this story by clicking here.

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 6-9 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC.

ADFCF6 95-0042   ---  2013-12-09 23:57:14 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
AE49C4 09-9208   RCH9208 2013-12-09 23:47:04 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
AE11EF 82-0006   ---  2013-12-09 22:57:15 E-3C United States USAF | 552ACW [KTIK]    
ADFCF6 95-0042   ---  2013-12-09 22:56:15 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
AE012E (73-1683)/97-01   ---  2013-12-09 22:26:53 C-9C United States AFRC | 932AW | 73AS [KBLV]    
AE0194 84-0134   SWFT289 2013-12-09 20:34:13 C-21A United States USAF | 375AW | 311AS [KCOS]    
AE0419 164407   GOTO FMS 2013-12-09 20:09:26 E-6B United States USN | SCW-1 [KTIK]
AE0672 63-8014   LUCKY12 2013-12-09 17:32:35 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
AE03F8 84-0154   ---  2013-12-09 16:48:11 C-12U United States LA ARNG | OSACOM Det38 [KHDC]    
AE0672 63-8014   LUCKY12 2013-12-09 16:47:22 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
ADFDED 94-6708 ANVIL26 2013-12-09 14:00:49 C-130H United States WV ANG | 130AW | 130AS [KCRW]    
ADFDD3 95-6709 ANVIL27 2013-12-09 13:30:12 C-130H United States WV ANG | 130AW | 130AS [KCRW]    
AE146D 07-7175   RCH925 2013-12-09 04:50:53 C-17A United States USAF | 436AW | 3AS [KDOV]
    
AE189A 05-4613 AVLON35 2013-12-08 23:08:56 C-40C United States AFRC | 932AW | 73AS [KBLV]    
AE07D3 90-0534   RCH802P 2013-12-08 20:26:03 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
AE02E7 84-0204   COBB61 2013-12-08 19:43:03 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
AE04A0 99-1933   BATON92 2013-12-08 16:49:22 EC-130J United States PA ANG | 193SOW | 193SOS [KMDT]    
AE0248 96-8154   BATON91 2013-12-08 16:15:39 EC-130J United States PA ANG | 193SOW | 193SOS [KMDT]
AE0158 58-0112   STEEL81 2013-12-08 16:10:52 KC-135T United States PA ANG | 171ARW [KPIT]    
AE4AFE 08-5693   RCH287 2013-12-08 07:32:17 C-130J United States USAF | 317AG [KDYS]    
AE1459 06-6155   RCH424 2013-12-08 03:35:15 C-17A United States USAF | 60AMW | 21AS [KSUU]    
ADFEB5 74-0787   STUMP 86 2013-12-08 00:15:29 E-4B United States USAF | 55WG | 1ACCS [KOFF]    

AE0592 58-0103   RCH0422 2013-12-07 21:32:20 KC-135T United States USAF | 92ARW [KSKA]    
AE062B 60-0353   RCH043 2013-12-07 20:34:17 KC-135R United States USAFE | 100ARW | 351ARS [EGUN]    
AE025D 58-0092   RCH040 2013-12-07 19:23:27 KC-135R United States USAF | 92ARW [KSKA]    
AE04FD 58-0095   RCH041 2013-12-07 19:10:38 KC-135T United States USAF | 92ARW [KSKA]    
AE07D3 90-0534   RCH802P 2013-12-07 17:42:32 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
ADFEEA 160046   LOBO01 2013-12-07 17:32:19 C-9B United States USMC | VMR-1 [KNKT]    
AE0244 63-8044   CODY01 2013-12-07 17:00:31 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
3F8519 1025   GAF586 2013-12-07 16:54:11 A-310-304MRTT Germany FBSBMVg     
AE02F3 86-0410   JADED0@@ 2013-12-07 16:49:57 C-130H United States AFRC | 440AW | 95AS [KPOB]    
AE1494 97-0100   PEACH82 2013-12-07 16:35:56 E-8C United States GA ANG | 116ACW [KWRB]    
71F9C1 35-730   ---  2013-12-07 16:26:51 C-130J South Korea SouthKoreaAirForce    
AE509C 81-23541   ---  2013-12-07 15:36:18 RC-12D United States ---    
AE12BB 69-5828   FLIP33 2013-12-07 14:06:42 MC-130p United States ---    
AE08F9 84-24376   2316 2013-12-07 01:13:28 C-12R United States OSACOM/PAT    

AE02E7 84-0204   COBB61 2013-12-06 23:19:16 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
AE1197 03-3114   RCH628 2013-12-06 23:16:54 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE4AFE 08-5693   RCH287 2013-12-06 23:04:47 C-130J United States USAF | 317AG [KDYS]    
AE08F9 84-24376   2316 2013-12-06 22:42:36 C-12R United States OSACOM/PAT    
AE016F 84-0077   SPAR685 2013-12-06 21:50:59 C-21A United States USAF | 375AW | 457AS [KADW]    
AE04D7 165829   CNV4241 2013-12-06 19:17:45 C-40A United States USNR | VR-58 [KNIP]    
AE0394 64-14832   SODA11 2013-12-06 18:42:05 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE016F 84-0077   SPAR685 2013-12-06 18:34:18 C-21A United States USAF | 375AW | 457AS [KADW]    
AE0470 57-1428   SODA52 2013-12-06 18:25:57 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE02C8 89-9104   VADER 04 2013-12-06 18:20:00 C-130H United States AFRC | 910AW | 757AS [KYNG]    
AE119C 03-3119   E33119 2013-12-06 15:33:18 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE2FAA 08-8198   RCH926 2013-12-06 05:27:25 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
AE1488 86-0416   PHENOM6 2013-12-06 02:15:57 TE-8a United States 330thCTS    
AE1488 86-0416   PHENOM6 2013-12-06 00:43:56 TE-8a United States 330thCTS    
AE02E4 81-0629   COBB62 2013-12-06 00:36:25 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
ADFE9A 95-0101   ---  2013-12-06 00:34:57 C-12R+ United States USARMY    
AB146A 10-0261   ---  2013-12-06 00:23:18 C-12 United States U S ARMY    

Monday, December 09, 2013

NOAA Weather Radio New York City Remains Out of Service

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
1110 AM EDT FRI SEP 06 2013

...NOAA WEATHER RADIO NEW YORK CITY REMAINS OUT OF SERVICE...

THE NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER THAT SERVES THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA HAS BEEN CAUSING RADIO REQUENCY INTERFERENCE ON THE U.S. COAST GUARD CHANNEL 16 TRANSMITTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DISTRESS...SAFETY AND CALLING SINCE LATE JULY.

THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSMITTER BROADCASTS ON A FREQUENCY OF 162.550 MHZ AND THE U.S.COAST GUARD TRANSMITTER BROADCASTS ON A FREQUENCY OF 156.800 MHZ. OTHER TRANSMITTERS...IN VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE NYC TRANSMITTER BROADCAST ON A FREQUENCY OF 168.3 MHZ.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS WORKING WITH SEVERAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO ISOLATE AND RESOLVE THIS TECHNICAL PROBLEM. WE HAVE INSTALLED A FILTER ON THE NYC TRANSMITTER...WHICH REDUCED...BUT DID NOT ELIMINATE THIS PROBLEM. WE WORKED WITH ANOTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
AND OVERSAW THE INSTALLATION OF ANOTHER FILTER...ON A TRANSMITTER BROADCASTING OVER 168.3 MHZ...WHICH DID NOT FURTHER REDUCE THE RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE.

WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE U.S. COAST GUARD TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM AND APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTERRUPTION OF OUR ROUTINE WEATHER BROADCASTS.

...NOAA WEATHER RADIO WILL BE PLACED IN OPERATION TO BROADCAST SHORT FUSE LIFE THREATENING WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS..

CanForce Snowbirds 2014 Airshow Schedules

Editor Note: Since Monitoring Times ceased publication this month, Teak Publishing will take over publication of Larry Van Horn's Annual Air Show frequency guide and it will be available soon as a Kindle publication at Amazon.com. Watch this blog for a release announcement.



This is a tentative schedule that we have been able to put together from air show websites and various media reports. This schedule on the blog is subject to change without notice and is weather permitting.

Stay tuned to the MMP blog and check the "Milcom Blog Guide to Airshows" section on the right hand side of this blog for links to other schedules and field reports from readers during the airshow season.

Ed Blog Note: If you attend any of these events with your scanner in hand, I could use your field reports on the frequencies that the team is using. f you have anything to share, please contact me at the email address in the masthead of this blog. Your field reports are important to us to keep the annual Internationl Air Show Guide current.

2014 Show Schedule

May 2014

May 13 Moose Jaw, Moose Jaw, SK
May 17-18 Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival, Cape Girardeau, MO
May 24-25 Salute to Veterans 26th Annual Celebration, Columbia, MO
May 28 TBD
May 31 Fort McMurray Air Show, Fort McMurray, AB

June 2014

June 1 Fort McMurray Air Show, Fort McMurray, AB
June 4 North Bay Armed Forces Day 2014, North Bay, ON
June 7-8 CFB Borden Canadian Forces Day & Airshow, Borden, ON
June 14-15 London Hot Air Balloon Festival, London, ON
June 18 Spectacle Aerien LA Baie, LA Baie, QC
June 21-22 Val D’Or, QB
June 24 St Georges De Beauce Airshow, St. Georges de Beauce, QC
June 28-29 Waterloo Air Show, Waterloo, ON

July 2014

July 1 Air Show Ottawa, Ottawa, ON
July 4 Moose Jaw, Moosejaw, SK
July 5-6 TBD
July 12 Yellowknife International Airshow, Yellowknife, NWT
July 13 Peace River Regional Airshow, Peace River, AB
July 16 TBD
July 19-20 Cold Lake Airshow – Centennial of Flight, Cold Lake, AB
July 23 Canada Remembers Our Heroes, Saskatoon, SK
July 26-27 Hometown Heroes Air Show 2014, Whitecourt, AB
July 30 TBD

August 2014

August 2-3 Big Valley Jamboree/Snowbirds Over Camrose, Camrose, AB
August 5-6 White Rock, BC
August 8-10 Abbotsford International Airshow, Abbotsford, BC
August 16-17 Bromont Air Show, Montreal, QC
August 20 Greenwood, NS
August 23-24 Moncton Air Show, Moncton, NB
August 27 Rotary Brantford Charity Air Show, Brantford, ON
August 30-31 Canadian International Air Show, Toronto, ON

September 2014

September 1 Canadian International Air Show, Toronto, ON
September 2 Whitby, ON
September 6 Royal Canadian Air Force Ball, Quebec City, QC
September 10 Port Stanley, ON
September 13-14 Wings Over Gatineau, Gatineau, QC
September 20-21 Oregon International Air Show, Hillsboro, OR
Sept 24 TBD
September 27-28 Redding Air Show, Redding Municipal Airport - Redding, CA

October 2014

October 4-5 TBD
October 11-12 TBD
October 17 Moose Jaw, Moosejaw, SK

Update: Blue Angels Announce Full 2014-2015 Air Show Season - 9 December 2013

Editor Note: Since Monitoring Times ceased publication this month, Teak Publishing will take over publication of Larry Van Horn's Annual Air Show frequency guide and it will be available soon as a Kindle publication at Amazon.com. Watch this blog for a release announcement.


Late Breaking News: PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, announced changes to the 2014 show schedule and the release of the 2015 show schedule at the International Council of Air Shows convention. The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly in 68 performances at 35 locations in 2014 and 64 performances at 34 locations in 2015 throughout North America.

The 2014 schedule changes announced:
• A show in Palmdale, CA replacing the March Air Reserve Base, CA show (March 21-22).
• The addition of the Fontana, CA Flyover (March 23).
• The cancellation of the Fort Smith, AR performance (April 5-6).
• The cancellation of the MCAS Cherry Point, NC performance (May 17-18).
• A show in Latrobe, PA replacing the Pittsburg, PA performance (June 7-8).
• A direct calendar swap for two shows, moving the Selfridge Air National Guard Base, MI show (September 6-7) and the Cleveland, OH show (August 30 – September 1).
• A show at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI replacing the Marine Corps Base Hawaii show (September 27-28).
• The Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola homecoming is extended one day (November 7, 8 & 9).

Original Post from 22 Oct 2013 and updated with changes above
Click here for a really neat video on the Blues return.

The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, will return to its full schedule for the 2014 air show season.

 "Community outreach is key to connecting Americans to the military," said Blue Angels Commanding Officer and Flight Leader, Cmdr. Thomas Frosch. "Our performances provide a unique opportunity to inspire millions to connect with and support our service members, and we are looking forward... to an exciting 2014 season."

The Blue Angels originally announced its show schedule for the 2014 season at the annual International Council of Airshows convention in Dec. 11, 2012. Following winter training, the team begins the season Mar. 15 at Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, Calif., and will conclude the season Nov. 8 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Fla.

The Navy believes there is value in demonstrating the professionalism and capabilities of our Navy and Marine Corps Naval Aviation team, thus inspiring future generations of Sailors and Marines.

Here is the official 2014 Blue Angel schedule from their public affairs office.

March 15 NAF El Centro CA
March 22-23 March ARB CA Cancelled
March 21-22 Lancaster, Palmdale, CA (Replaced March ARB)
March 23 Fontana, CA Flyover
March 29-30 NAS Kingsville TX

April 05-06 Lakeland FL
April 12-13 Fort Smith AR Cancelled
April 26-27 NAS Fort Worth JRB TX

May 03-04 St. Louis MO
May 10-11 Vero Beach FL
May 17-18 MCAS Cherry Point NC Cancelled
May 21 US Naval Academy Annapolis MD
May 23 US Naval Academy Annapolis MD
May 24-25 Jones Beach, NY
May 31-June 01 La Crosse WI

June 07-08 Pittsburgh PA Cancelled
June 07-08 Latrobe, PA (replaced Pittsburgh)
June 14-15 Smyrna TN
June 21-22 Milwaukee WI
June 28-29 Dayton OH

July 05-06 Traverse City MI
July 12 Pensacola Beach FL
July 19-20 Offutt AFB, NE
July 26-27 St. George UT

August 02-03 Seattle WA
August 16-17 Chicago IL
August 23-24 Duluth MN
August 30-September 01 Cleveland OH (New date)

September 06-07 Selfrdige ANGB MI (New date)
September 13-14 Baltimore MD
September 20-21 NAS Oceana VA
September 27-28 MCB Hawaii, HI  Cancelled
September 27-28 Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI (Replaced MCB Hawaii)

October 04-05 MCAS Miramar CA
October 11-12 San Francisco CA
October 18-19 Millington TN
October 25-26 Jacksonville Beach FL

November 01-02 Houston TX
November 07-09 NAS Pensacola FL

The 2015 announced show schedule is:

March 14 NAF El Centro, CA
March 21-22 Melbourne, FL
March 28-29 Tuscaloosa, AL
April 11-12 MCAS Beaufort, SC
April 18-19 NAS Corpus Christi, TX
April 25-26 Vidalia, GA

May 2-3 Barksdale AFB, LA
May 9-10 Quad City (Davenport), IA
May 16-17 Westover ARB, MA
May 20 & 22 USNA graduation and flyover
May 27 Atlantic City, NJ
May 30-31 North Kingstown, RI

June 6-7 Rockford, IL
June 13-14 Ocean City, MD
June 20-21 Latrobe, PA
June 27-28 Evansville, IN

July 4-5 St. Cloud, MN
July 11 Pensacola Beach, FL
July 18-19 Hillsboro, OR
July 25-26 Fargo, ND

August 1-2 Seattle, WA
August 15-16 Chicago, IL
August 22-23 Kansas City, MO
August 29-30 Ypsilanti, M

September 5-6 Brunswick, ME
September 12-13 Fort Worth, TX
September 19-20 NAS Oceana, VA
September 26-27 Naval Base Ventura County, CA

October 3-4 MCAS Miramar, CA
October 10-11 San Francisco, CA
October 17-18 MCB Hawaii, HI
October 24-25 Jacksonville Beach, FL
October 31 Peachtree City, GA

November 1 Peachtree City, GA
November 6-7 NAS Pensacola, FL

Friday, December 06, 2013

US Air Force Thunderbirds Release 2014 Schedule


 
The Thunderbirds have the privilege and responsibility to perform for people all around the world, displaying the pride, precision and professionalism of American Airmen. In every hour-long demonstration, the team combines years of training and experience with an attitude of excellence to showcase what the Air Force is all about.
The sharply choreographed, drill-style ground ceremony kicks off the demonstration by showcasing the attention to detail and esprit de corps that defines our enlisted members. As the jets take to the skies and fly only a few feet from wingtip to wingtip, the crowd gets a glimpse of the awesome skills and capabilities that all fighter pilots must possess. The solo pilots integrate their own loud and proud routine, exhibiting some of the maximum capabilities of the F-16 Fighting Falcon – the Air Force’s premier multi-role fighter jet.

The flying unit, officially known as the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, will perform its first public flyover of 2014 at the opening of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1. The remainder of the schedule is as follows:

Feb. 23: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
March 9: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev.
March 15-16: Luke AFB, Ariz.
March 22-23: MacDill AFB, Fla.
March 29-30: Punta Gorda, Fla.
April 5-6: Columbus AFB, Miss.
April 12-13: Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
April 26-27: Barksdale AFB, La.
May 3-4: Travis AFB, Calif.
May 10-11: Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
May 17-18: Youngstown Air Reserve Base, Ohio
May 24-25: Cannon AFB, N.M.
May 28: U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
May 31 – June 1: Fairchild AFB, Wash.
June 7-8: Rockford, Ill.
June 14-15: Ocean City, Md.
June 21-22: Tinker AFB, Okla.
June 28-29: Hill AFB, Utah
July 5-6: Battle Creek, Mich.
July 12-13: Fair Oaks, In.
July 15: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minn.
July 23: Cheyenne, Wyo.
July 26-27: JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
Aug. 2-3: Oshkosh, Wis.
Aug. 9-10: Ypsilanti, Mich.
Aug. 13: Atlantic City, N.J.
Aug. 16-17: Rochester, N.Y.
Aug. 23-24: Waterloo, Iowa
Aug. 30-31: Kalispell, Mont.
Sep. 13-14: Altus AFB, Okla.
Sep. 20-21: Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
Sep. 27-28: Salinas, Calif.
Oct. 4-5: Melbourne, Fla.
Oct. 11-12: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Oct. 18-19: Rome, Ga.
Oct. 25-26: Ft. Worth, Texas
Nov. 1-2: Santa Teresa, N.M.
Nov. 9-10: Nellis AFB, Nev.

AV Week reveal new large flying wing the RQ180


 
By Amy Butler and Bill Sweetman, sUAS News

A large, classified unmanned aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman is now flying—and it demonstrates a major advance in combining stealth and aerodynamic efficiency. Defense and intelligence officials say the secret unmanned aerial system (UAS), designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, is scheduled to enter production for the U.S. Air Force and could be operational by 2015.

Funded through the Air Force’s classified budget, the program to build this new UAS, dubbed the RQ-180, was awarded to Northrop Grumman after a competition that included Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The aircraft will conduct the penetrating ISR mission that has been left unaddressed, and under wide debate, since retirement of the Lockheed SR-71 in 1998.

Click here to read the rest of this story on the uUAS website

Original story on the Av Week website

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 5 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC.

A852BF 10-0257   ---  2013-12-05 23:53:15 C-12V United States US Army    
AE1BF2 07-4639   PETRA21 2013-12-05 22:45:37 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE1BF1 07-4638   PETRA23 2013-12-05 22:30:32 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE1531 06-4633   JILL41 2013-12-05 22:28:02 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE1BF2 07-4639   PETRA21 2013-12-05 22:23:19 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE016F 84-0077   SPAR682 2013-12-05 22:17:31 C-21A United States USAF | 375AW | 457AS [KADW]    
AE093C 00-1053   R01053 2013-12-05 22:16:46 UC-35a1 United States US Army | OSACOM PATD [KADW]    
AE047A 58-0073   DIXIE18 2013-12-05 21:24:18 KC-135R United States AL ANG | 117ARW | 106ARS [KBHM]    
AE093A 00-1051   ---  2013-12-05 21:20:16 UC-35B United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]
AE093C 00-1053   R01053 2013-12-05 21:01:16 UC-35a1 United States US Army | OSACOM PATD [KADW]    
AE04AC 99-0103   ---  2013-12-05 20:43:13 UC-35a1 United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]    
AE02C8 89-9104   VADER 04 2013-12-05 19:49:11 C-130H United States AFRC | 910AW | 757AS [KYNG]    
B648D9 09-0540 AVLON31 2013-12-05 19:25:13 C-40C United States AFRC | 932AW | 73AS [KBLV]    
AE189A 05-4613 AVLON73 2013-12-05 19:23:17 C-40C United States AFRC | 932AW | 73AS [KBLV]
ADFEEA 160046   LOBO01 2013-12-05 19:09:13 C-9B United States USMC | VMR-1 [KNKT]    
AE1488 86-0416   PEACH91 2013-12-05 19:06:50 TE-8a United States 330thCTS    
AB146A 10-0261   ---  2013-12-05 18:50:03 C-12 United States U S ARMY    
AE0224 85-0032   FORCE08 2013-12-05 18:19:31 KC-10A United States USAF | 305AMW [KWRI]    
AE07B7 62-3528   BACKY41 2013-12-05 17:55:33 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
AE00DA 70-1953   ---  2013-12-05 17:31:24 T-38C United States 87thFTS    
B648D9 09-0540 AVLON31 2013-12-05 17:29:34 C-40C United States AFRC | 932AW | 73AS [KBLV]    
AE189A 05-4613 AVLON73 2013-12-05 17:21:09 C-40C United States AFRC | 932AW | 73AS [KBLV]
AE07B7 62-3528   BACKY41 2013-12-05 17:17:22 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
AE047F 59-1509   ---  2013-12-05 17:12:31 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE1488 86-0416   PEACH91 2013-12-05 16:36:57 TE-8a United States 330thCTS    
AE047F 59-1509   SODA83 2013-12-05 16:28:42 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE056E 86-0017   ---  2013-12-05 16:28:14 C-5M United States USAF | 436AW | 9AS [KDOV]
AE02D1 92-3021   SHARK 02 2013-12-05 16:20:29 C-130H United States AFRC | 910AW | 757AS [KYNG]    
AE04E5 59-1478   SODA82 2013-12-05 15:55:23 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
ADFFC6 64-13297   ---  2013-12-05 14:17:53 T-38A United States USAF | 9RW | 1RS [KBAB]    
AE1172 02-1100   ELVIS42 2013-12-05 03:42:00 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]
AE04AC 99-0103   ---  2013-12-05 02:09:15 UC-35a1 United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]    
AE11D5 73-1675   SCOUT01H 2013-12-05 01:34:13 E-3B United States USAF | 552ACW [KTIK]    
AE08FE 92-13121   SUNNY13 2013-12-05 00:34:40 RC-12P United States 224MIB    
AE1191 03-0016   ---  2013-12-05 00:26:35 UC-35B United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]    

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 4 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC.

AE29FE 166695   CNV4822 2013-12-04 23:53:01 C-40A United States USNR | VR-56 [KNTU]    
AE11D5 73-1675   SCOUT01H 2013-12-04 23:19:45 E-3B United States USAF | 552ACW [KTIK]    
AE01D5 64-14849   SENSR02 2013-12-04 22:46:03 RC-135U United States USAF | 55WG | 45RS [KOFF]    
AE1749 06-3855   ---  2013-12-04 22:37:22 T-6A United States USAF | 14FTW | 41FTS [KCBM]    
AE010E 97-0401   ---  2013-12-04 22:35:56 C-37A United States USAF | 89AW | 99AS [KADW]    
AAEC74 10-0256   ---  2013-12-04 22:06:35 C-12V1 United States US Army | B/6-52 AVN (TA) DET-1 [KFTK]    
ADFD07 95-0059   ---  2013-12-04 21:48:57 T-1A United States USAF | 14FTW | 48FTS    
AE11ED 81-0004   SNTRY30H 2013-12-04 20:52:19 E-3C United States USAF | 552ACW [KTIK]    
AE0631 ------   ---  2013-12-04 20:51:40 RC-12K United States USAF    
AE02F9 86-0418   BREWR61 2013-12-04 20:40:51 C-130H United States AFRC | 440AW | 95AS [KPOB]    
AE4AF4 08-3179   JILL11 2013-12-04 20:37:45 C-130J United States USAF | 317AG [KDYS]    
ADFC8F 92-0334   ---  2013-12-04 20:20:00 T-1A United States USAF | 479FTG | 451FTS [KNPA]    
ADFEEB 160047   LOBO02 2013-12-04 20:19:09 C-9B United States USMC | VMR-1 [KNKT]    
ADFFC6 64-13297   ---  2013-12-04 19:39:08 T-38A United States USAF | 9RW | 1RS [KBAB]    
AE4EBC 168438   ---  2013-12-04 19:04:10 P-8A United States USN | VP-5 [KNIP]    
AE149A 02-9111   PEACH99 2013-12-04 18:55:21 E-8C United States GA ANG | 116ACW [KWRB]
AE0565 85-0008   ---  2013-12-04 18:33:16 C-5M United States USAF | 436AW | 9AS [KDOV]    
AE49C4 09-9208   RCH9208 2013-12-04 18:31:52 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
AE29DA 07-3170   E73170 2013-12-04 18:27:11 C-130J United States USAF | 317AG [KDYS]    
ADFF79 66-4358   ---  2013-12-04 17:54:02 T-38C United States 50thFTS    
AE04DF 58-0088   JEEP32 2013-12-04 17:46:10 KC-135T United States MI ANG | 127WG | 171ARS [KMTC]    
AE11ED 81-0004   SNTRY30H 2013-12-04 17:17:52 E-3C United States USAF | 552ACW [KTIK]    
AE4EBB 168437   ---  2013-12-04 17:06:56 P-8A United States USN | VP-5 [KNIP]    
AE1191 03-0016   ---  2013-12-04 17:05:03 UC-35B United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]    
AE04DF 58-0088   JEEP32 2013-12-04 17:02:43 KC-135T United States MI ANG | 127WG | 171ARS [KMTC]    
AE223F 2308   ---  2013-12-04 16:39:01 HC-144A United States USCG |    
AE0394 64-14832   SODA81 2013-12-04 16:12:04 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE29FE 166695   CNV4822 2013-12-04 15:19:12 C-40A United States USNR | VR-56 [KNTU]    
ADFFA8 70-1583   ---  2013-12-04 14:31:18 T-38C United States 50thFTS    
ADFF79 66-4358   ---  2013-12-04 14:26:03 T-38C United States 50thFTS    
AE0394 64-14832   SODA81 2013-12-04 13:59:29 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE07F0 96-0006   RCH802L 2013-12-04 03:34:10 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

US Civil Air Patrol to Exercise this Weekend

The USAF Civil Air Patrol will be conducting a nationwide exercise this weekend on their communication frequencies.

I found this item on the Colorado CAP Facebook page:

"The national HF communications exercise, Constant Watch 13, is scheduled to
run continuously from 2200Z 6 Dec to 2200Z 8 Dec."


I have just posted a new reference page here on the Milcom MP devoted to monitoring the CAP. 73 and good hunting.


Teak Publishing Announces New E-book

First Class Effort! Five Stars By WCD   Great up-to-date compendium of North American aviation radio. Frequencies, site locations, sectors; everything in one concise e-book. Nice job Van Horn!

Well written, especially for newcomers to aviation listening Five Stars By Walter B Turner  This publication covers a specific aspect of aviation radio, and it does it very well. The explanation of how the air traffic control system is very clear. This book would be great for someone who wants to listen to aircraft radio but doesn't live near a major airport.

Awesome Reference! Five Stars by Scannerfood Well organized and convenient resource that contains verified (by me after purchasing) accurate information with detail not found elsewhere. A must have for those that love to listen to airplanes! Plug in your local ARTCC's and hear everything you missed last time because you didn't have all the frequencies. Makes following a plane through airspace a breeze!

Definitive Guidance Five Stars By PK766 The author has gone to great extents to provide the most up to date and informative guide to listening to North American Enroute Aviation comms. As an avid monitor of ARTCC comms I can appreciate the portability of this book, which I can now carry almost anywhere on my phone, tablet, laptop, etc... The accuracy of the information at the time of publishing is spot on and I have not found any errors. BRAVO!!! Great Job Mr. Van Horn!

Useful and Portable! Five Stars By C Parris An extremely useful publication for aviation monitoring, made even more useful now that I can carry it in my Kindle or iPad. The information contained by this volume is very complete and organized for easy access. Being that I travel and are often looking up things on-line, having this stored in my portable device makes it that much more useful. And at a very reasonable price, I can give this publication high praise!

Great Reference Immediate Use Information for the Monitoring Hobbyists Five Stars By Kenneth Windyka  WOW!!! Got to admit for such a small price this guide is packed with concise frequency information that a beginning or seasoned aviation radio monitoring hobbyist can readily use. It also provides a concise explanation of the organization of the Air Route Traffic Control Centers. As a daily monitor of military and civilian aviation, this is a very handy publication to have on one's tablet, computer or other device for following aircraft's communications. One can also print out the pertinent pages for the geographic areas normally monitored. I think this long time hobby monitoring hobbyist as well as author, again shows us that he can produce a reference publication that is right on target for the radio monitoring hobby to enjoy!

Teak Publishing, owned by Monitoring Times Staffers Larry and Gayle Van Horn, is pleased to announce a new Amazon e-book that is now available for sale – North American Enroute Aviation Guide.

One of the most common misconceptions that most radio hobbyists have about the aircraft monitoring hobby is that you have to live close to an airport in order to hear any civilian or military aeronautical communications.

While it is true that if you live close to any major airport you will hear a lot of air and land mobile radio traffic associated with that aero facilities’ operation, all is not lost if you are not within VHF/UHF line-of-sight range of a major airport.

You can still hear a lot of civilian and military communications by monitoring the frequencies used by any of the 22 Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) or the Area Control Centers (ACC) located in Canada and Mexico.

In this new Teak Publishing e-book, Larry covers all of the known VHF/UHF frequencies broken down by VHF frequency used by various area control centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. Unfortunately, most of the "official" FAA records (especially the ATA-100 series, DoD IFR FLIP publications, etc) available in the public domain, within government intranet systems, and ARTCC frequencies published on a wide variety of Internet scanner websites are notoriously inaccurate. Even FAA officials responsible for some of these "official" lists have admitted they are not accurate.

The author has worked with a number of radio monitors nationwide to refine and provide the most current and updated frequency information available for all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States. We have also published information for the seven Canadian Area Control Centers and the four centers located in Mexico.

If you do not own a Kindle reader there is no need to purchase one. You can still read our Kindle electronic reader books or any Kindle books with Amazon's free reading apps.

There are “free” Kindle reading apps for the Kindle Cloud Reader, Smartphones (iPhone,  iTouch, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry); computer platforms (Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 and Mac); Tablets (iPad, Android and Windows 8), and, of course, all of the Kindle family of readers including the Kindle Fire series. A Kindle e-book allows you to buy your book once and read it anywhere. You can get more detail on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771.

The North American Enroute Aviation Guide by former MT Milcom columnist Larry Van Horn N5FPW is available for purchase worldwide from Amazon.com for $2.99.

Go to the North American Enroute Aviation Guide e-book page at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G0683GG for further details and to order..

Be sure to monitor the Teak Publishing company Internet radio hobby blogs – The Military Monitoring Post (http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/) and The Shortwave Central (http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/) for availability and pricing for additional radio hobby e-books that are currently in production.

One of these new e-publications will include Gayle's new International Shortwave Broadcast Guide e-book (the former MTXpress Shortwave Broadcast Guide) that will be available in December 2013.


Monitoing Military Aircraft Using HFDL Digital Comms


In this digital age we have a lot of ways to monitor military aircraft. Within VHF/UHF you can monitor not only voice comms, but Mode-S and VHF ACARS digital transmissions.

If you monitor HF frequencies for over the horizon comms the most common communications you will encounter are USB voice transmissions. But there is another ACARS style digital stream you can monitor on HF freqs and decode -- HFDL. It has been around for a while, but it is getting more attention by aero monitors now that there are more than 2000 aircraft worldwide that can send and receive HF digital messages and to a network of 15 different stations located worldwide.

I have added a new reference page with the current frequencies in use on HFDL monitoring to our sister blog the BTown Monitoring Post at http://monitor-post.blogspot.com/p/hfdl-system-table-48-frequencies.html. I will be updating that page as necessary so check back often or become a follower of the Btown MP.

In addition to the new ref page above, I have moved our International Aeronautical HF Frequency List and Civilian Air Cargo/Airline and Select Military Call Signs over to the Btown MP at http://monitor-post.blogspot.com/.

I will be using that blog to consolidate all of our new upcoming HF ref pages and future updates to existing ref pages.

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 3 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC.

AE067A 00-1934   BATON91 2013-12-03 20:52:44 EC-130J United States PA ANG | 193SOW | 193SOS [KMDT]    
AE06E4 163836 ???   ---  2013-12-03 20:41:12 UC-12F United States USNAVY    
AE146F 07-7177   RCH7177 2013-12-03 20:23:51 C-17A United States USAF | 436AW | 3AS [KDOV]    
AE120A 93-0697   ---  2013-12-03 19:57:20 RC-12N United States USARMY    
AE1191 03-0016   PAT062 2013-12-03 19:52:02 UC-35B United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]
ADFD79 91-0509   ---  2013-12-03 19:37:33 C-26D United States OSACOM/PAT    
A74ED3 95-3058   ---  2013-12-03 19:20:53 C-146A United States USAF | 27SOW | 524SOS [KCVS]    
AE1199 03-3116   RCH797 2013-12-03 19:18:18 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
ADFF00 96-0112   ---  2013-12-03 18:36:19 C-12J United States USARMY | CARA AVN SECTION [KAPG]    
AE272D 96-6043   ---  2013-12-03 18:26:09 CN-235 United States USAF | 427SOS [KPOB]    
AE1191 03-0016   PAT062 2013-12-03 17:53:58 UC-35B United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]
AE04E5 59-1478   SODA82 2013-12-03 17:53:04 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE1BF1 07-4638   PETRA23 2013-12-03 17:05:41 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE04E5 59-1478   SODA82 2013-12-03 17:04:22 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE1531 06-4633   PETRA22 2013-12-03 17:01:49 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE1BF2 07-4639   PETRA20 2013-12-03 16:58:10 C-130J-30 United States USAF | 19AW [KLRF]    
AE080B 99-0165   RCH447 2013-12-03 16:26:54 C-17A United States AFRC | 445AW | 89AS [KFFO]    
ADFDC4 93-1457   EPIC57 2013-12-03 16:21:09 C-130H United States NC ANG | 145AW | 156AS [KCLT]    
AE02E8 84-0205   ROGUE 39 2013-12-03 15:50:03 C-130H United States AFRC | 94AW | 700AS [KMGE]    
AE120A 93-0697   ---  2013-12-03 14:27:35 RC-12N United States USARMY    
AE093A 00-1051   ---  2013-12-03 14:22:39 UC-35B United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]    
AE04B3 57-1473   RCH103 2013-12-03 03:58:56 KC-135R United States AL ANG | 117ARW | 106ARS [KBHM]    
AE4E18 11-5727   KING15 2013-12-03 01:23:23 HC-130J United States USAF | 23 Wing | 71RQS [KVAD]    
AE04AF 165741   ---  2013-12-03 00:46:46 UC-35 United States MAW-4    

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

1st of 3 Norfolk-Based Navy Ships Heading to Florida

The first of three Virginia-based Navy ships is heading to a new homeport in Florida this week.

The amphibious transport dock USS New York will leave Norfolk Naval Station on Wednesday and move to Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Virginian-Pilot reports  that the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and the dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry will move to Mayport in 2014.

The Iwo Jima is undergoing work at a Norfolk shipyard. The Fort McHenry currently is based at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek.

The New York has a crew of about 350 sailors. The Fort McHenry has about 400 sailors and the Iwo Jima has about 1,100 sailors.

P-8A Aircraft Program Achieves Initial Operational Capability

Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 Commanding Officer Cmdr. Bill Pennington Jr. takes off on a P-8A Poseidon No. 429 aircraft from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Nov. 29. The take-off represents the squadron's historic first operational deployment of the Poseidon within the Navy's maritime patrol and reconnaissance community. (U.S. Navy photo by Clark Pierce/Released)
By LaToya T. Graddy Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office (PMA-290) Public Affairs   
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- The Navy's newest maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, has achieved initial operational capability (IOC) after the first two P-8A Poseidons departed for deployment Nov. 29.

This announcement comes weeks after the completion of the Operational Readiness Evaluation of the first deploying P-8A Poseidon squadron and the commander of Patrol and Reconnaissance Group officially declaring the first P-8A squadron, Patrol Squadron 16 (VP-16), "prepared for deployment" Nov. 4.

"This IOC declaration is the culmination of years of careful planning and coordinated effort by the fleet, resource sponsor, acquisition community, and industry," said Capt. Scott Dillon, program manager for Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office (PMA-290).

By achieving IOC, the Navy can effectively deploy the P-8A for operational missions and continue to successfully transition from the aging P-3C. The Poseidon program is on track for completing the remaining preparations for the first operational deployment of a P-8A squadron.

"With the P-3 to P-8 transition well underway at Jacksonville, VP-16 is executing an Inter-Deployment Readiness Cycle and is on track to be the first P-8 squadron to deploy. VP-5 has completed their P-8 transition, and VP-45 has commenced P-8 transition after returning from deployment this past summer. In addition to leading the fleet transition process, VP-30 is also producing P-8 qualified replacement personnel for direct accession into P-8 qualified squadrons," said Rear Adm. Matt Carter, Commander Patrol and Reconnaissance Group. "There has never been a greater need for a new patrol and reconnaissance aircraft now that the aging P-3 is nearing the end of its life cycle. The P-8 is a true multi-mission platform, which will continue to provide us invaluable capabilities."

"The number of submarines in the world is increasing rapidly. Other countries are either building or purchasing advanced, quiet, and extremely hard to find submarines and we need to be able to match that technology to be able to detect them. The P-8, along with the Triton, will strengthen the maritime mission and provide greater situational awareness," Carter added.

This year was filled with crucial programmatic milestones for the program office, including the successful completion of Initial Operational Test and Evaluation and the on-going delivery of initial production aircraft in support of the first three P-3 to P-8 squadron transitions. To date, 12 low rate initial production aircraft were delivered to the fleet, and the final aircraft in the second production lot is on-track to deliver ahead of schedule and prior to the end of the year.

The program office along with the P-8 Fleet Integration Team in Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Fla., is continuing to support the transitioning squadrons with training by also using the P-8A Integrated Training Center (ITC). The ITC is meeting training requirements of the Fleet Replacement Squadron, VP-30, and the transitioning squadrons.

"We are pleased the P-8A has been, and continues to be, on cost and on schedule," Dillon said. "The program office is continuing to support the needs of the fleet and deliver an aircraft that recapitalizes and improves upon the capabilities of its predecessor; greatly enhancing the effectiveness of the Navy's forward deployed squadrons."

Navy Deploys P-8A Poseidons to Okinawa

 
Erik Slavin at Stars and Stripes is reporting that the U.S. Navy has deployed two of their new P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.

The P-8’s long-planned arrival in the western Pacific comes about a week after China unilaterally declared a broad swath of the East China Sea’s air space as its national air defense identification zone and demanded that military aircraft identify themselves and file flight plans with the Chinese government.

The United States, Japan and other Asian nations have stated that their military aircraft will not recognize the zone, which includes airspace over the Japanese-administered Senkaku islands.
 
China also claims the uninhabited islands, which are valued for the energy and food resources in their near shore waters.
 
The two patrol aircraft left Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 29, and later landed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi for refueling before touching down in Okinawa, Navy officials said.
Another four P-8s will arrive during the next few weeks, according to Navy sources.
 

S. Korea to confirm new air defense zone this week

Things in the eastern Asia continue to heat up. The Yonhap News Agency has a story this morning re: new ADIZ for South Korea.

SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- Locked in a standoff with China over disputed airspace, South Korea will confirm its new air defense zone expanding southward this week and notify neighboring countries of the plan before making a formal announcement, Seoul officials said Tuesday.

In response to China's controversial Air Defense Identification Zone (AIDZ) overlapping that of South Korea and Japan, Seoul has been preparing a new air defense zone that includes an ocean research station built on an underwater reef and southern islands.

Arleigh Burke Participates in COMPTUEX

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jeff Atherton, George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs
USS ARLEIGH BURKE, At Sea (NNS) -- Guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) departed Naval Station Norfolk to participate in a scheduled Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), Nov. 22.

"We are getting ready to deploy," said Cmdr. Camille Flaherty, Arleigh Burke's commanding officer. "We are forging a command team that is ready to go into harm's way."

COMPTUEX allows Arleigh Burke the opportunity to work with other ships comprising the George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group.

"This exercise is an outstanding opportunity for Arleigh Burke to integrate into a strike group and work with different warfare areas," said Cmdr. Chris Majors, assigned to Commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic (CSFTL) and the senior assessor aboard Arleigh Burke during COMPTUEX.

Arleigh Burke, whose motto is "Built to Fight," will get to do just that -- participate in and be evaluated on a series of scenario-driven exercises aimed at integrating the ship with the rest of the strike group.

"The Arleigh Burke Sailors can expect to see a wide range of warfare areas such as air defense, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, electronic warfare and maritime interdiction operations (MIO), among others," said Majors.

These warfare areas are uniquely tailored to the possible challenges that the strike group may face while operating in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. Sailors will be required to conduct missions with visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) teams and small craft action teams (SCAT) in order to achieve the Navy's maritime objectives.

"COMPTUEX allows Sailors to develop a battle rhythm," said Chief Gunner's Mate Chuck Thomas. "This is comparable to operating in the 5th Fleet because the VBSS team and SCAT are ready at a moment's notice to support MIO."

For the Sailors, the unknown is the most realistic part of COMPTUEX.

"We just don't know what to expect next," said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Mahtob Johnson. "This is when training comes in and we can effectively execute what we have learned to do."

Following the successful completion of COMPTUEX, Arleigh Burke will be fully certified for its scheduled deployment in early 2014.

"As a ship, we are manned up at a heightened state of readiness," said Thomas. "When we arrive in theater, it will be like we have seen it before."

Although Arleigh Burke is the oldest destroyer in the fleet, having been commissioned on July 4, 1991, the ship remains ready to fight.

"This is not the same ship that was commissioned 22 years ago," said Flaherty. "She has upgraded engines control systems and a completely new ballistic missile defense capability, just to name some improvements."

The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group consists of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2 staff, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22 staff, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), guided-missile cruisers USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) and USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), and guided-missile destroyers USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) and USS Arleigh Burke.

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 2 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC.

AE10B6 01-0187   BOE87 2013-12-02 23:10:00 C-17A United States USAF | 62AW [KTCM]    
AE4E18 11-5727   KING15 2013-12-02 22:29:26 HC-130J United States USAF | 23 Wing | 71RQS [KVAD]    
AE146D 07-7175   RCH925 2013-12-02 22:12:57 C-17A United States USAF | 436AW | 3AS [KDOV]    
AD4036 11-3075   ---  2013-12-02 22:11:06 C-146A United States USAF | 27SOW | 524SOS [KCVS]    
AE067A 00-1934   BATON91 2013-12-02 21:50:53 EC-130J United States PA ANG | 193SOW | 193SOS [KMDT]    
ADFD7D 91-0513   ---  2013-12-02 21:47:43 C-26D United States SC ARNG |OSACOM DET-24    
AAEC74 10-0256   ---  2013-12-02 21:40:31 C-12V1 United States US Army | B/6-52 AVN (TA) DET-1 [KFTK]    
AE11DD 76-1606   SNTRY06H 2013-12-02 21:06:52 E-3B United States USAF | 552ACW [KTIK]    
AE0178 84-0129   SPAR643 2013-12-02 21:06:30 C-21A United States USAF | 375AW | 457AS [KADW]    
ADFEEA 160046   ---  2013-12-02 21:01:56 C-9B United States USMC | VMR-1 [KNKT]    
AE093A 00-1051   ---  2013-12-02 20:45:06 UC-35B United States USARC | B/2-228 AVN (TA) [KMGE]    
AE2024 ------   ---  2013-12-02 20:05:24 UH-72A United States US Army |    
AE03FD 84-0144   ---  2013-12-02 19:24:09 C-12C United States USN | TPS [KNHK]    
AD4036 11-3075   ---  2013-12-02 19:21:11 C-146A United States USAF | 27SOW | 524SOS [KCVS]    
AE2FAA 08-8198   RCH926 2013-12-02 18:54:33 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
AE0192 84-0125   SWIFT88 2013-12-02 18:29:30 C-21A United States CT ANG | 103FW | 118FS [KBDL]    
AE0218 83-0082   HOIST91 2013-12-02 17:50:45 KC-10A United States USAF | 305AMW [KWRI]
AE0232 87-0120   @B@@H@@ 2013-12-02 17:50:31 KC-10A United States USAF | 305AMW [KWRI]    
AE0655 58-0084   STEEL71 2013-12-02 17:49:25 KC-135T United States PA ANG | 171ARW [KPIT]    
ADFEE0 87-0160   PAT1088 2013-12-02 17:42:17 C-12U United States TX ARNG | OSACOM DET-49 [KAUS]    
AE06D9 163561   ---  2013-12-02 17:18:03 UC-12F United States USMC | VMR DET MIRAMAR [KNKX]
AE0655 58-0084   STEEL71 2013-12-02 17:01:12 KC-135T United States PA ANG | 171ARW [KPIT]    
AE0470 57-1428   SODA52 2013-12-02 16:56:33 KC-135R United States TN ANG | 134ARW | 151ARS [KTYS]    
AE07DD 93-0603   RHINO90 2013-12-02 16:47:03 C-17A United States AFRC | 445AW | 89AS [KFFO]    
AE1494 97-0100   KOMODO4 2013-12-02 16:38:26 E-8C United States GA ANG | 116ACW [KWRB]    
AE115E 01-0030   ---  2013-12-02 14:59:20 C-37A United States USAF | 6AMW | 310AS [KMCF]    
AE117B 02-1109   RCH284 2013-12-02 14:33:30 C-17A United States USAF | 62AW [KTCM]    
AE0803 98-0057   RCH272 2013-12-02 01:56:12 C-17A United States NY ANG | 105AW | 137AS [KSWF]    

US Air Force participates in first Israeli Blue Flag exercise

A group of F-15E Strike Eagles taxi following a combat mission during the Blue Flag exercise on Uvda Air Force Base, Israel, Nov. 26, 2013. Aircraft from the 492nd Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, deployed to participate in the exercise, which promoted improved operational capability, combat effectiveness, understanding and cooperation between the U.S., Israel, Greece, and Italy. The unit engaged multiple heavy air defense assets, ground base targets and simulated opposition forces to meet combined operations requirements. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lee Osberry/Released)
by Senior Master Sgt. Dwayne Gordon,  48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

UVDA AIR FORCE BASE, Israel  -- The U.S. Air Force participated in the first Israeli Blue Flag exercise at Uvda Air Force Base, Israel, Nov. 24-28.

Blue Flag is the largest multinational aerial warfare training exercise hosted by the Israeli Air Force. The exercise included forces from the U.S., Israel, Italy, and Greece. Its objectives were to improve operational capabilities and combat effectiveness of the participating nations, and to foster combined relations, cultural understanding, and combat experience.

"It was an outstanding experience for the more than 170-person U.S. Air Force team," said Lt Col John Orchard, 492nd Fighter Squadron commander, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, and U.S. Air Force Blue Flag commander. "The Israelis provided an excellent training environment, which offered us the opportunity to learn from each other, and to take advantage of good airspace, surface threat replicators, and challenging scenarios. It was a real pleasure integrating with our Israeli, Italian and Greek partners who all offer unique tactical, strategic and cultural perspectives."

The exercise allowed for the partnering nations to integrate their tactical capabilities to complete a specific mission. It also further strengthened the relationship and military partnership.

"This was a very good opportunity for the participating nations to work on efficiencies, to practice becoming more logistically sound, and how to get our forces from point A, to point B," said Capt. Matthew Kuta, 492nd FS pilot, RAF Lakenheath. "It also provided us training on how to actually operate together to continue to provide stability to the area."

The U.S. Air Force deployed aircraft and support personnel from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, and a Combat Communications team from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The aircraft were F-15Es from the 492nd Fighter Squadron.

Prior to the start of the exercise, the visiting nations had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the airspace and flying procedures. The training week offered four days of flying and preparation.

"Blue Flag week one was dedicated as training and warm-up towards the actual exercise that took place during week two," said Kuta. The airspace, mission duration, and some of the procedures were a little different to us. After the training week, we were ready to go."

During the exercise, a realistic war scenario was created which employed a friendly, multinational force (Blue Force) against an enemy aggressor force (Red Force). A simulated threat environment was created which caused for the partnering forces to use careful integration and critical analysis to engage the enemy and survive. The exercise included air-to-air and air-to-surface simulated missions.

The Red Force invaded friendly airspace simulating opposing air forces tactics, attempting to engage specific targets and all approaching aircraft. Their actions caused for the Blue Force to take action and attempt to eliminate the threat. The combined force merged their tactics, techniques, and procedures to form a dominate team that effectively terminated attacks by the adversary Red Forces.

Although these partnering air forces have trained separately together before, this was the first opportunity for the Israeli Air Force to conduct a multinational exercise of this magnitude in their country.

"We successfully completed the biggest multinational exercise in Israel's history," said a senior Israeli Air Force source.

"The exercise required many preparations by air and ground crews, long before the partnering air forces landed in Israel. This has helped Israel improve its general air defense capabilities while learning together and cooperating with global allies," the source said.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, visited the exercise location along with a delegation of observers from different countries. The observers were able to witness some of the action to determine if their country would be interested in participating in future Blue Flag exercises. Israel plans to conduct the exercise every two years.

"Israel lives in a dangerous neighborhood," said Shapiro. "We need the best equipped, best trained forces as possible to protect our people and our security. We also need allies and we have great allies here, all training together and reinforcing a partnership that gets stronger with each passing year."

The U.S. armed forces routinely participate in training exercises with NATO and other partner nations to improve interoperability and preparedness. However, this exercise offered a unique experience for the U.S. Air Force to train in unfamiliar airspace, with great partners.

Monday, December 02, 2013

Mode-S/ADS Milcom Intercepts 27 November-1 December 2013 - Btown NC

Here is another round of Mode-S/ADS-B intercepts and selected ATC call signs logged from here on the radio ranch in WNC. All dates/times are UTC. The holiday weekend proved to be a real slooowww period for mil Mode-S activity. Here are the slim details.

ADFEB5 74-0787   ---  2013-12-01 23:37:02 E-4B United States USAF | 55WG | 1ACCS [KOFF]    
AE144F 05-5145   ---  2013-12-01 22:06:33 C-17A United States AFRC | 452AMW | 729AS [KRIV]    
AE0581 87-0036   ---  2013-12-01 19:32:03 C-5M United States USAF | 436AW | 9AS [KDOV]    
AE0581 87-0036   ---  2013-12-01 18:24:29 C-5M United States USAF | 436AW | 9AS [KDOV]    
AE08F9 84-24376   ---  2013-12-01 18:21:56 C-12R United States OSACOM/PAT    
AE0977 165834   CNV4843 2013-12-01 18:19:21 C-40A United States USNR | VR-58 [KNIP]    
70C08D 505   ---  2013-12-01 17:11:42 C-130J Oman 16sqn(Oman)    
AE1238 03-3127   RCH3127 2013-12-01 16:13:16 C-17A United States USAF | 62AW [KTCM]    
AE0178 84-0129   SPAR643 2013-12-01 16:10:34 C-21A United States USAF | 375AW | 457AS [KADW]    
AE08F9 84-24376   2316 2013-12-01 15:42:06 C-12R United States OSACOM/PAT    
AE05E3 88-4401   PACKR20 2013-12-01 14:41:25 C-130H United States AFRC | 440AW | 95AS [KPOB]    

AE04C9 60-0314   INDY62 2013-11-30 16:28:38 KC-135R United States AFRC | 434ARW | 72ARS [KGUS]    

AE119C 03-3119   RCH785 2013-11-29 23:04:31 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
ADFEB5 74-0787   STUMP 86 2013-11-29 20:11:22 E-4B United States USAF | 55WG | 1ACCS [KOFF]    
AE1199 03-3116   RCH269 2013-11-29 18:33:55 C-17A United States MS ANG | 172AW | 183AS [KJAN]    
AE0418 164406   GOTO FMS 2013-11-29 17:51:33 E-6B United States USN | SCW-1 [KTIK]
AE054D 70-0456   ---  2013-11-29 16:00:09 C-5A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    

AE05E6 88-4404   BREWR11 2013-11-28 03:59:23 C-130H United States AFRC | 440AW | 95AS [KPOB]    
71F9C1 35-730   ---  2013-11-28 00:00:26 C-130J South Korea SouthKoreaAirForce    

AE0565 85-0008   ---  2013-11-27 21:21:03 C-5M United States USAF | 436AW | 9AS [KDOV]    
AE01A1 86-0374   ALLIED 1 2013-11-27 20:31:20 C-21A United States CO ANG | 140WG | 200AS [KCOS]    
AE0565 85-0008   ---  2013-11-27 18:32:04 C-5M United States USAF | 436AW | 9AS [KDOV]    
AE049B 61-0313   BACKY31 2013-11-27 17:49:15 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
AE07ED 96-0003   HUSKY36 2013-11-27 17:43:08 C-17A United States USAF | 62AW [KTCM]    
AE049B 61-0313   BACKY31 2013-11-27 17:04:23 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
AE1235 03-3124   RCH603 2013-11-27 02:44:28 C-17A United States USAF | 437AW [KCHS]    
AE07E0 94-0066   RCH647 2013-11-27 01:45:07 C-17A United States USAF | 62AW [KTCM]
AE07BA 62-3557   SWOTH02 2013-11-27 01:37:57 KC-135R United States AFRC | 916ARW | 77ARS [KGSB]    
AE0416 164404   GOTO FMS 2013-11-27 01:26:07 E-6B United States USN | SCW-1 [KTIK]

Sunday, December 01, 2013

USS Freedom Visits Guam While Transiting Pacific

SANTA RITA, Guam (NNS) -- The littoral combat ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1), arrived in Guam, the furthest western U.S. territory, as part of her return transit across the Pacific Ocean, Nov. 29.

While the crew will have time to rest, relax and reset, Freedom will receive fuel and supplies for the next underway period as the ship wraps up a maiden overseas deployment to Southeast Asia that began last March.

Over the past several months, Freedom has worked with many regional navies that operate comparable-sized ships during a series of port visits, exercises, and exchanges. These engagements directly support the Asia-Pacific rebalance and further reinforced cooperation and interoperability among the Navy's partners and allies throughout Southeast Asia.

Prior to arriving in Guam, Freedom conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX) with the Bangladesh navy ship BNS Somudro Joy (F 28), supported humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) efforts in the Philippines, as part of Operation Damayan, and conducted a port call in Muara, Brunei.

USS Freedom's first rotational deployment to Southeast Asia began March 1, when the ship departed San Diego and commenced a Pacific Ocean transit that included port visits in Hawaii, Guam and Manila. Freedom used Singapore as a logistics and maintenance hub between April 18 and Nov. 16, during which she participated in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX), three phases of the bilateral naval exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) with Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and the multinational exercise Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT). During port visits, Freedom hosted thousands visitors from throughout Southeast Asia.