>>6480868
#QID361 & #QID362
Departed Mildenhall around 0430z, providing #AAR for MYTEE51/52
— SR Airband & Aviation (@Andy007_SR_A) May 8, 2019
Then, you can also listen to the “Buffs” as they talk the ATC (Air Traffic Control) over France:
B-52H Callsign MYTEE51 talking with Bordeaux control en-route to Al Udeid Air Base Qatar. Discussion about two way points BEPER and TINOT.https://t.co/f3uWfwepVD#potn #avgeeks #B52 pic.twitter.com/XDGnJbQbPB
— planes on the net (@planesonthenet) May 8, 2019
Later on May 8, the aircraft could be tracked as they flew more or less eastbound over the Mediterranean Sea:
Current location of #USAF B-52s MYTEE51 & 52 heading to Al Udeid Airbase, Qatar. In reaction to a real & credible threat from Iran in the region pic.twitter.com/XMkVfWo17m
— Peter Harley (@PeterHarley20) May 8, 2019
As some flight trackers pointed out not all B-52s keep their ADS-B/Mode-S transponders turned on during the flight. Still, when they do, they appear on flight tracking websites.
United States Air Force B-52H Stratofortress aircraft (MYTEE51) heading into the Middle East. Mind you, they’re not necessarily on radar! Their Mode-S transponders get shut off regularly, and some don’t have one at all. #potn #avgeek https://t.co/popRClUIE2 pic.twitter.com/PLuSHO2W5g
— Gerjon | חריון (@Gerjon_) May 8, 2019
Interestingly, based on cross analysis of available photographs with transponder hex codes allows tie-ups that can be useful to determine or confirm whether a bomber is a nuclear-capable one or not:
Four USAF #B52 nuclear-capable strategic bombers have been deployed to Al Udeid Air Base
US Air Force #USAF Boeing B-52H Stratofortress
60-0058/LA|#AE5893
60-0062/LA|#AE5897
60-0032/LA|#AE5882
61-0015/LA|#AE58A2
h/t @AircraftSpots for 4!https://t.co/VNu90lgBzH
— Steffan Watkins (@steffanwatkins) May 9, 2019
In fact, nuclear-capable B-52Hs can be identified because they sport the “New START fins” on both sides of the fuselage. According to Hans Kristensen, these are external identifiers under the treaty that are removed when aircraft are converted to non-nuclear capability.
It appears that at least two of the B-52Hs in the Bomber Task Force sent to Middle East are nuclear-capable. https://t.co/Hjs7Lsj51J https://t.co/4T1TZLiKINhttps://t.co/kxAsRZtYG4 pic.twitter.com/WweEYV27LK
— Hans Kristensen (@nukestrat) May 9, 2019
Summing up, once again, ADS-B, Mode-S and MLAT as well as the right flight tracking websites and Twitter feeds. can provide a ton of useful details that OSINT can “translate” into even more interesting stuff and insights about on-going operations. As happened, for instance, on Apr. 13 and 14 last year, during the trilateral air strike on Syria.
https://theaviationist.com/2019/05/10/tracking-the-u-s-b-52-bombers-deploying-to-qatar-in-response-to-iranian-threat-in-the-persian-gulf/