Another Interesting DoD Hex Hole Range Uncovered

Graphic courtesy of Buzz Feed

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/hidden-spy-planes

From time to time after extensive research I occasionally uncover some interesting holes in the Mode-S hex addresses used by the Department of Defense. Recently I have been researching the AE5B4A-AE5B66 hex code range which I have identified as a DoD hex hole range.

This range may be a F-35 fighter aircraft hex block. To my monitor friends, especially you guys in the Las Vegas area, please keep a close eye on this range and report any of the codes you might see on your boxes.

Speaking of Buzz Feed (the graphic at the top of this post), I am sure you will find the article We Trained A Computer To Search For Hidden Spy Planes. This Is What It Found at

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/hidden-spy-planes interesting. 

Government and Military surveillance aircraft often keep a low profile: The FBI, for example, registers its planes to fictitious companies to mask their true identity. BuzzFeed News trained a computer to find them by letting a machine-learning algorithm sift for planes with flight patterns that resembled those operated by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Last year, we reported on aerial surveillance by these planes, mapping thousands of flights over more than four months from mid-August to the end of December 2015. From planes tracking drug traffickers to those testing new spying technology, US airspace is buzzing with surveillance aircraft operated for law enforcement and the military.

Interesting read! 

BOLO (Be on the lookout) for Unid Hex Codes

Do you have Mode-S receive and civ/mil receive capability? If so you might want to keep an eye out for some interesting hex codes that have been associated with USAF SpecOps C-146A aircraft. We do not have serial tie ups yet, but here are some that have been seen here on the radio ranch in Btown.

000BD2  000BFC  005A07  AE0439 (associated with C-144 a/c)

Many of you who followed my columns in Monitoring Times over the years know what a frequency spectrum hole is. Well I'm starting to see some interesting hex code holes in my mil aircraft database. So since I'm visiting this area of milair monitoring in this post, here are a few more hex codes to key on. If any of you get any tie ups, I would appreciate an email via the address in the masthead. As I move forward in this research, I will be posting more hex code holes as time permits.

AE042F  AE0431  AE0432  AE0435  AE043A (associated with C-32B State Dept/ANG FEST a/c)  AE043B  AE043C  AE043D  AE043E  AE043F  AE0440  AE0441  AE0445  AE0447  AE0448

Finally, we know that these hex holes can be used to provide cover to high profile military aircraft missions. During the flight to South Africa in June 2013, Air Force-1 used the hex code AE13DF. The C-32B ANG/State Dept C-32B FEST aircraft have been observed using hex codes from the block listed above.

I do have an interesting story regarding one of these C-32B FEST aircraft and the attack on the State Dept/CIA compound in Benghazi that has not been told by any media to date. So standby here on the MMP blog for that piece of news.