Fact Check: Does Flightradar24 Track Military Stealth Aircraft, or Is It an Aviation Myth?

Unpack the full background Fact Check: Does Flightradar24 Track Military Stealth Aircraft, or Is It an Aviation Myth with our in-depth report.

Sophisticated users often point to multilateration MLAT as proof that civilian networks can track non-ADS-B military jets without the pilot sharing coordinates. Some older military assets, or modern fighters running specific training runs, broadcast older Mode S pulses that omit onboard GPS position data. They squawk altitude and identity codes, but no latitude or longitude.

Civilian networks work around this by using time difference of arrival (TDOA) calculations. When at least four ground-based receivers capture the exact same Mode S ping at slightly staggered microsecond intervals, the central server calculates the aircraft's position using intersecting hyperbolic lines.

MLAT lets ground observers estimate the flight paths of aircraft that omit GPS streams. However, multilateration still fundamentally depends on the aircraft transmitting a radio signal. If a stealth jet engages full emissions control, it radiates no Mode S pulses for hobbyist antennas to collect. Without incoming radio packets, MLAT calculation algorithms fail to generate a single coordinate point.