Did NATO planes turn off transponders?

NATO aircraft operating around Ukraine turned off their transponders all at once leading up to this morning's Russian mobilization announcement. They did it all at once a couple hours before the announcement.



Yes, it is a standard high-fidelity tactical procedure for NATO and other military aircraft to fly with their transponders turned off or set to "silent" during specific training exercises and combat missions. This practice, often referred to as "dark" flying, is used to prevent the aircraft's precise location, altitude, and identity from being visible on civilian flight-tracking software like FlightRadar24. While this ensures a high-fidelity operational advantage and realistic training scenarios, it has historically caused friction with civilian Air Traffic Control (ATC). In 2026, many national aviation authorities and residents in regions like the Netherlands and Curacao have voiced concerns about the safety risks of military planes "wandering" into civilian corridors without identification. While the planes remain visible to military primary radar, they become invisible to secondary surveillance used by commercial pilots, making it a high-fidelity requirement for military controllers to coordinate closely with their civilian counterparts to prevent mid-air collisions.

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U.S. military aircraft can opt to turn their transponders off, he said, adding that because the United States and other free countries have taken the approach that data should be open to everyone, “there's not a whole lot you can do about it.”

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When Must an Aircraft Have a Transponder? A transponder is not required unless an aircraft is operating: In Class A, Class B, or Class C airspace. Above 10,000 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL), excluding airspace below 2,500 feet Above Ground Level (AGL).

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But to help facilitate the safe and efficient movement of air traffic, U.S. military aircraft routinely transmit via ADS-B and other transponder types. That makes information on the movements of U.S. military aircraft available to anyone with an Internet connection.

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Penney worried about missing the target if she tried to bail out. If you eject and your jet soars through without impact . . . she trails off, the thought of failing more dreadful than the thought of dying. But she didn't have to die.

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Military aircraft in particular are exempt from many civil rules and regulations which would see most aircraft having an active transponder and of course their operational requirements will dictate they often do. That said, ultimately, any plane CAN disable it if they wish.

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The squawk code 7500 is an emergency code used by pilots to inform ATC of a plane hijacking taking place, which means that the pilots have either been forced to change course or are no longer in control of the aircraft.

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Red: When an aircraft is displayed as red that means that you are currently following that specific aircraft on the map or that an emergency squawk is on for this aircraft.

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If it's failing and/or on fire, you want the power off. Two: operationally, it is sometimes necessary for ATC to request planes on the ground turn off their transponders to declutter the radar.

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