Military planes are nearly impossible to track. Sometimes, you might see them on Flightradar24 but they sometimes disappear on the site. This is because the military puts up false information on the sites to throw tracking hackers from figuring out what they're doing.
Websites such as ADSBExchange.com, FlightRadar24.com and FlightAware.com aggregate flight data in the United States and abroad using a mix of commercial and citizen-owned sensors that capture the movements of commercial, civilian and military aircraft in real time, 24 hours a day.
There are a few reasons why your aircraft may not be shown. First, the aircraft may not be fitted with an ADS-B transponder, meaning it is not compatible with our receiver network. Second, if the aircraft is fitted with a Mode S transponder and not visible, it may be flying in areas with little or no MLAT coverage.
Red icons indicate aircraft that are squawking 7600 or 7700.
In September 2022, the plane carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II was attempted to be tracked by 6,000,000 users in the first minute after the transponder activated, with 4,790,000 following a portion of the flight, becoming the most tracked flight of all time.
Special Sites on Tracking Military Flights
ADS-B Exchange has a filter that shows only military aircraft. Here are a few other websites that specialize in tracking military flights: ADS-B.NL is a site based on real-time data from ADS-B Exchange that focuses on tracking military aircraft worldwide.
Blue: Aircraft displayed as blue icons are currently being tracked via satellite. Satellites are collecting the ADS-B signals from aircraft and transmitting them to the Flightradar24 network. Space-based ADS-B tracking will be used to supplement our terrestrial receiver network.
Flightradar24 is the first flight tracking service which offers space-based ADS-B-tracking. The blue planes on the map are tracked from a satellite and the yellow ones are tracked from the regular earth-based radar stations.
FR24 features more options that will appeal to casual users, and while both apps have good free versions, Flightradar24 offers cheaper premium levels. FlightAware markets itself more to professional users in the aviation industry.
All of the blue tabs are expandable to show additional information about the flight. By clicking on the More [Flight number] information tab, you'll see the Great circle distance, average flight time, airline logo, and arrival information—which can include terminal, gate, and baggage belt information.
Not all helicopters are equipped with transponders, which are devices that transmit information about the aircraft's location, altitude, and speed to air traffic control and other aircraft. Without a transponder, the helicopter's flight cannot be tracked by flight radar or other tracking systems.
You can filter by registration & start with the number 0, hit enter & a good many will show up. You can continue doing that through the number 9. Some numbers are associated with airlines (I think maybe 4,6 & 8) but they'll typically also show military planes as well.
Generally speaking, Air Force (and military in general), aircraft will "orbit" (fly in circles around a given point) when the mission calls for them to be "on station" (nearby and ready to perform other parts of their mission).
If the trail is a black dotted line, the aircraft is outside our coverage area and its position is being estimated.
For flights being tracked with MLAT the location data is not from the transponder, it is calculated. The speed of an MLAT flight is calculated based on how long it took to fly between two calculated points. MLAT position calculations have a general accuracy of 10-100 meters and 1000 meters in the worst cases.
Flightradar24 has a rapidly growing network of 35,000 ground stations around the world to receive this data that then shows up as aircraft moving on a map in the app.
For security reasons the US government doesn't usually make it easy to track Air Force One when they president is travelling to different destinations. There are some publicly available resources that claim to provide details of various flights around the world, including the route of Air Force One.
GPS now is the core navigation system for U.S. military aircraft, vessels, vehicles, and personnel. It has changed the nature of weapons targeting, command and control, guidance of unmanned systems, and supply delivery on the battlefield.
Airport Data Page
Arrival and Departure boards list flight status and the On Ground page lists aircraft currently at the airport. All users see the last 60 minutes of on ground activity, Silver subscribers see the past 7 days, Gold subscribers see the last 30 days, and Business subscribers see the last 90 days.
Alternative: If you're only interested in the essentials, consider using FlightAware instead of FlightRadar24.
Over 5 million people tracked Queen Elizabeth II's final flight to London, per Flightradar24.