Big increase in military flights

Has anyone noticed that commercial airlines appear to have stopped or greatly reduced using the northerly great circle route to North America? Was in the garden (Tyne & Wear) all day yesterday and everything from Europe that was heading to the states was routing directly overhead.

That’s got more to do with where the jetsteam is & how strong

The tracks on the North Atlantic change position daily to take best advantage of tailwinds/avoid headwinds.

This can move the entry points hundreds of miles, especially for routes to Canada & the west coast, whist can mean the initial route out of LHR can be south of Ireland some days but practically north to begin with on other days.

Sentry:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=4d03ca

Pair of B52’s coming out of Bristol way:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae589a
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae58b2

Artemis doing laps:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a60693

Rivet Joint along the border:

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae01d1

SirHC,
Where did teh B52’s go, I had them on screen then after a teams call, they had gone.

B-52’s may have landed in Romania, although that’s just where I saw them last, from memory they landed in Portugal last week before taking off again and returning back after a spot of lunch.

SirHC,
Where did the B52’s go, I had them on screen then after a teams call, they had gone.

Switched their transponders off.

Noticed that the globalhawk is not shown, guess that’s had its transponder switched off as well.

Where did teh B52’s go, I had them on screen then after a teams call, they had gone.

They’ve just popped up again off the North Coast of Italy.

I heard a jet go over my house this morning but checked Flightradar24 and it said it was a Van RV8A doing 450knts despite having a propeller max cruising speed of 180. Not sure if it was an error or deliberate misdirection?

Rivet joint running up and down tje Moldova border now, 1745z. Tight racetrack pattern. Keeping an eye on Odessa and the ruski amphibious assault ships.

Looks like one of the B52s is just back into Fairford now (18:19pm). I assume the other one’s already on the ground, or switched off the beacon in the meantime

Just had 2 x B52s pass overhead in low formation (Chippenham, by M4 j17), probably @ 6pm. Haven’t seen anything like that for a while, since RAF Lyneham closed up shop

@luv2ride – I saw them just before you did, they flew directly over where I work in Westbury. I was taking a time-out for a few minutes in our Arrivals hut, and a delivery transporter driver was bringing his cars up ready for inspection tomorrow, and I saw him stop and turn around, looking at something then walk off back to his transporter. I went outside to see what had got his attention, heard jet engines and spotted them heading north, towards Chippenham and Fairford.

I checked out ADS-B, and only one was showing, as usual…

I expanded the view to see where they’d been, and it seems they’d been on a little jaunt over to Romania. As one does…

Just had a thought – due to my shift pattern, after tomorrow, I’ve got five days off, then back at work for four days, then off again for another five. Fairford isn’t really all that far away, and a quick look at ADS-B, and some forward planning, it might be feasible to be there to see them land…

Hind!

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=498482

Got a pair of F15s from Lakenheath circling over us (Gower)

Couple of blackhawks:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae5d3e
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae5ac7

Rivet, Sentry, a joint stars and an RC135 having a get together:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae1491
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=4d03d0
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae01d1
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c39c

Artemis doing hotlaps on the southern border:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a60693

E3 Sentry coming in to Birmingham airport, be good to see that

Be too far away for me to see it flying over Coventry

“ E3 Sentry coming in to Birmingham airport, be good to see that”

Saw it flying overhead. Annoyingly if I was in the office today I probably would have seen as I cycle past the end of the runway to get home

Bugger I was by the airport all day yesterday 🤣
Euro fighters are out today it’s busy for sure.

Was a kc135 stratotanker west of Warsaw last night. Doing the usual racetrack with long legs for hours. Didn’t spot any hook ups and nothing military got close, apart from a Blavkhawk and they 30,000 feet of vertical separation.

Lots of traffic in and out of Rzeszow. At the moment.

There was an Italian Global Hawk over Greece earlier today, and a Lakenheath F-15 was making scribbles at 16,000 feet over Westbury and a chunk of Salisbury Plain earlier today as well.

I’ve just spotted something drone-like flying around very slowly just offshore from RAF Akrotiri as well. No identifier for it, though.

@luv2ride – I don’t suppose you’re the owner of a blue On-One Il Pompino s/s, by any chance?

I think I’ve seen the Royal Artillery tweeting about deploying Watchkeeper to Akrotiri so I expect that’s what you’re seeing. They were flying it above Keevil during the summer, you could probably hear it in Westbury!

Interesting load of US jets flying around (over the North Sea in particular). No other identification of what I’m looking at

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae26d2

Showing up as F16s on Flightradar23:

Look to be F15s F16s and a couple of Eurofighters too now.

Showing up as F16s on Flightradar23:

Didnt think they had F-16s in the UK. Mostly F-15E and a slowly increasing number of F-35s.

Several Hawks up from Anglesea too. Maybe it’s just a nice day for exercises.

Just had 2 B52’s trundle through my airspace, getting in the way.

dissonance
Full Member
Didnt think they had F-16s in the UK. Mostly F-15E and a slowly increasing number of F-35s.

Definitely F-16s, a couple more going out for a play now. If the tracks earlier were anything to go by it looked like practice for getting up close and personal with other jets.

Also, they really are the prettiest jets around

Apache’s are up above suffolk:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=43c934

Rivet has been covering some ground:
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ae01d1

Seems a lot of the stuff earlier in the week has had their trackers turned off, but the tankers are still flying

@awh – not familiar with Watchkeeper, I’ll do a search for it. Keevil isn’t far away, but it’s usually only big transports like A-400 and C-130’s that come over low and fast on an approach to do practice runs. I often hear things flying around, but if it’s cloudy it’s difficult to tell what it is, and often there’s no transponder to identify the plane. It’s quite possible that if Watchkeeper was being flown out of Keevil, it may have been going east of where I am in Westbury to test over the ranges with ground forces.

@luv2ride – I don’t suppose you’re the owner of a blue On-One Il Pompino s/s, by any chance?

@CountZero, nope sir, not me. Single speed Spesh Singlecross here…all tye other bikes are geared, inc a modded Arkose gravel bike that was once originally (and may soon return to being) S/S

@CountZero The fast jets with out transponders on are probably Typhoons from Coningsby. They seem to fly down to the exercise area then switch off. This week though there’s been F-15Es with transponders on.

Single B52 over Chippenham 11.45 today

B-52 just gone over Chippenham, fairly low, too. Been for a little jaunt down to Southern Europe, actually Clairmonde du Feronde, in the Park Volcans, had a mountain bike holiday around there back in the 90’s, lovely countryside.

3 x Hercy birds just flew out of Ramstein ab. Plus the usual night sortie for the kc135 stratotanker out to its position between Warsaw and the Ukrainian border.
I refuse to believe they fly out there for no reason for hours every night. Exactly what they are refuelling who knows

I refuse to believe they fly out there for no reason for hours every night. Exactly what they are refuelling who knows

Refueling global hawks and other reconnaissance equipment .

B52’s are up again…