# Military Flight Tracker: Live Military Flights

Updated 09:09 UTC, 29 Oct 2026. Canonical: https://monitorworld.app/live/military-flight-tracker

Our latest delayed snapshot (09:09 UTC, at least 20 minutes old) shows **111 military aircraft** broadcasting a position. The most common identified types were transport and trainer aircraft, and the largest group flew over Europe. Another 131 were left off the map because they flew in or near active war zones, belonged to VIP or state fleets, or sent no position.

## Key numbers

- Military aircraft on the map: **111** (snapshot 09:09 UTC)
- Hidden (war zones, VIP, no position): **131**
- Tankers airborne: **4**
- Surveillance and command: **2**

## Military flights now: notable aircraft (delayed)

- [ISR/C2] AFP92 · E390 (Europe, 35,000 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TANKER] RCH5091 · KC-135R Stratotanker (Europe, 29,000 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TANKER] MMF80 · A330 / MRTT (Europe, 23,000 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TANKER] MTTE35 · A330 / MRTT (Europe, 21,000 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TANKER] FAF4135 · A330 / MRTT (Europe, 5,700 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RCH844 · C-17 Globemaster III (Europe, 57,500 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RCH2058 · C5M (Europe, 35,025 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RCH205 · C-17 Globemaster III (North America, 34,000 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RCH406 · C-17 Globemaster III (Europe, 31,000 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] GAF120 · A400M Atlas (Europe, 30,975 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RRR4226 · A400M Atlas (Europe, 30,975 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RRR6216 · C-17 Globemaster III (Europe, 30,125 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] DUMBO50 · A400M Atlas (Europe, 28,975 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RCH3225 · C-17 Globemaster III (North America, 28,000 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)
- [TRANSPORT] RCH260 · C-17 Globemaster III (Europe, 27,450 ft, last seen 09:09 UTC, adsb.lol)

## Latest media reports on military aviation

- [HIGH] [Ethiopia acquires Russian fighter jets and air defence systems amid war in Tigray](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw78prj801pvo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) (BBC Africa, 08:23 UTC, 1h ago)
- [MEDIA] [Fallen Southampton players honoured at armistice ceremony](https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/26664894.fallen-southampton-players-honoured-armistice-ceremony/) (dailyecho.co.uk, 05:15 UTC, 2d ago)
- [MEDIA] [Algeria to send troops to Niger in first foreign deployment since 1973](https://www.namibian.com.na/algeria-to-send-troops-to-niger-in-first-foreign-deployment-since-1973/) (namibian.com.na, 05:15 UTC, 2d ago)
- [MEDIA] [Saudi Arabia offered Houthis $1 bn in Iran-brokered ceasefire deal: Israeli media](http://www.myanmarnews.net/news/279399157/saudi-arabia-offered-houthis-1-bn-in-iran-brokered-ceasefire-deal-israeli-media) (myanmarnews.net, 05:15 UTC, 2d ago)
- [MEDIA] [Canada receives its first F-35 jets from U. S., as full order remains under review](https://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/news/national_news/article_90d8c0ca-b459-5aee-a8b7-d91365d993fb.html) (kelownadailycourier.ca, 07:15 UTC, 3d ago)
- [MEDIA] [EU summit in Brussels: European powers intensify war drive against Russia](https://nuclear-news.net/2026/10/26/6-b1-eu-summit-in-brussels-european-powers-intensify-war-drive-against-russia/) (nuclear-news.net, 07:15 UTC, 3d ago)

## Key context

### Aircraft by region and type

| Region | Aircraft |
| --- | --- |
| Europe | 80 |
| East Asia | 12 |
| Middle East | 6 |
| Pacific and Oceania | 6 |
| North America | 3 |
| Southeast Asia | 2 |
| South Asia | 1 |
| Australia | 1 |

### What the mix says

Of the 111 aircraft we can show, 50 other, 23 transport, 17 trainer, 15 helicopter and tiltrotor, 4 tanker. Transports and tankers dominate every day because they fly long routes in civil airspace with transponders on. A sudden rise in tankers or surveillance aircraft in one region is the signal analysts watch, not a single aircraft.

Tanker tracks matter because fighters and bombers often fly dark: when several KC-135 or KC-46 tankers orbit the same area, they are usually refuelling aircraft you cannot see. Surveillance aircraft such as the RC-135, P-8 Poseidon or E-3 AWACS fly racetrack patterns near borders and sea lanes.

### How this tracker works

Every 10 minutes we take a snapshot of the adsb.lol military feed. We drop aircraft with no position, aircraft in or within about 100 km of active war zones (Ukraine, Russia west of 45°E, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran) and VIP / state flights such as Air Force One and SAM callsigns. A snapshot is published only when it is at least 20 minutes old, and every aircraft carries a "last seen" time.

Positions are not verified by MonitorWorld and can be wrong: some military aircraft send fake or default positions, and multilateration (MLAT) positions can jump. Do not use this page for navigation or safety decisions.

## FAQ

### What military planes are flying right now?

In our latest snapshot (09:09 UTC) the most common identified types were transport and trainer aircraft. The list above shows the notable ones with callsign, type, region and last-seen time. The data is at least 20 minutes old on purpose.

### Can you track military flights live?

Partly. Many military aircraft broadcast ADS-B or Mode S like airliners, especially transports, tankers and aircraft flying in civil airspace. Community receiver networks such as adsb.lol collect these signals. This page shows them with a delay of at least 20 minutes, which is enough to see patterns without exposing an operation in progress.

### Why do some military planes not show up?

Crews can switch off position broadcasts, and fighters, bombers on missions and special-operations aircraft often fly without them. Some aircraft only send Mode S without a position, and coverage depends on volunteer receivers on the ground. On top of that, MonitorWorld removes aircraft in or near active war zones and VIP / state aircraft such as Air Force One.

### Is it legal to track military aircraft?

In most countries it is legal to receive unencrypted ADS-B signals and to look at aggregated, public flight data. Some countries restrict publishing military movements, especially in wartime: Ukraine and Israel, for example, prohibit sharing real-time positions. That is why this page delays data by 20 minutes or more and never plots aircraft inside active war zones. Check your local law before you publish anything.

### What is the best military flight tracker?

It depends on the job. Unfiltered community trackers such as adsb.lol, ADS-B Exchange and airplanes.live show the most aircraft in real time. Flightradar24 hides many military flights. MonitorWorld is built for context: delayed positions next to conflict events, earthquakes and news, with push alerts in the app.

## Get the app

MonitorWorld is free on iPhone and Android, rated 4.7 from 52 ratings on the US App Store.

- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6760610225
- Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.monitorworld

## Sources

- [adsb.lol](https://adsb.lol/): community ADS-B data under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0). Shown at least 20 minutes delayed; aircraft in or near active war zones and VIP / state aircraft are removed.
- [The GDELT Project (DOC 2.0 API)](https://www.gdeltproject.org/): media reports, matched by keyword. Headlines link to the publisher; MonitorWorld does not verify them.
- [MonitorWorld news digest](https://monitorworld.app/sources): headlines from public news feeds (Reuters, AP, BBC, Al Jazeera and others), severity rated by our model. Each headline links to the publisher.

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