You can monitor online the U.S. RC-135S Cobra Ball aircraft used to track ballistic missiles reentry vehicles and warheads during the final phase of flight.
Early
in the morning on Jul 4, North Korea successfully tested an intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time.
The
ICBM, referred to as Hwasong-14, reached a height of 2,802 kilometers, according
to the state-run Korea Central Television (KCTV). The missile was launched from
Panghyon, in North Pyongan province, and flew into waters east of the Korean
Peninsula after traveling for about 930 kilometers.
The
latest missile launch, as well as the previous ones, was almost certainly
monitored by the U.S. Forces deployed to the region, using a variety of aerial,
ground-based, sea-going assets.
The
U.S. Air Force relies on its small contingent of RC-135S Cobra Ball missile tracking
aircraft. Based at Offutt Air Force Base, outside Omaha, Nebraska, and flown by
the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron, these intelligence gathering aircraft are
often deployed where needed to track ballistic missiles reentry vehicles and
warheads during the final phase of flight. The aircraft is equipped with a
powerful radar array on the starboard side of the fuselage, just aft of the
cockpit. Several optical quality windows are mounted on the starboard side as
well, allowing infrared and visible spectrum cameras to record the warheads
during their final moments of flight. A distinctive feature of the Cobra Ball is
the black low-glare paint used on the starboard wing, to improve image quality
and prevent glare during photography.
Unsurprisingly,
two Cobra Ball aircraft (61-2662 and 61-2663) are currently deployed to Yokota
Air Base, Japan, from where it is launched when there are signs of an imminent
North Korean test. What is far more surprising is the fact that, in spite of
their important role, RC-135S aircraft are among the military planes that can be
tracked online by exploiting the signals broadcast by their Mode S/ADS-B transponders.
By
observing the activities of the RC-135S in Japan you may have a pretty clear
idea of what is happening or about to happen in North Korea. For instance, last
night, the fact that the Cobra Ball was airborne from Yokota might suggest that
the U.S. intelligence had detected activities at the launch site and was
preparing to monitor the test. This is the reason why I tweeted the following
(later confirmed by the news of the ICBM test):
And
that was not the first time. Just a coincidence? Most probably not, considered
that the Cobra Ball does not fly that much and almost all sorties tracked online
in Japan coincided with North Korea’s tests.
Here
are some examples:
On
Apr. 15, North Korea test-fired an unidentified land-based missile from the
naval base in Sinpo. An RC-135S was flying over Japan:
On
May 13, North Korea test-fired an intermediate range ballistic missile, from a
test site on the country’s West Coast. That launch reached a then-record
altitude of around 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles) and a Cobra Ball was airborne
to watch and collect data:
On
Jun. 20, a Cobra Ball and WC-135 Constant Phoenix “nuclear
sniffer” flew over Japan. It was later unveiled that the spy satellites had
detected new activity at the North Korean nuclear test site.
So,
if you want to know when Kim Jong Un is preparing for a new test, you may try to
look for a Cobra Ball or Constant Phoenix airborne over Japan on ADSBexchange or
simply follow some of the Twitter accounts who constantly track such aircraft,
such as our friend @CivMilAir who provided us with most of the updates on the
RC-135 and WC-135 flights in the
area.