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Came across this on flighradar24 recently. It shows a jet making a very strange pattern. I would normally expect it to be some sort of aerial survey but seems unlikely in such a large aircraft at such a high altitude (I would expect to see a GA plane do this at lower altitudes).

Snapshot:

Snapshot

Closeup of snapshot:

Closeup of snapshot

Flight details (still might be able to find flight if you hurry and check out the latitude and longitude):

Flight details (still might be find flight if you hurry and check out the latitude and longitude)

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    $\begingroup$ apart from telling you that the aircraft is flying in circles and the cutting lines are a glitch of flightradar24, what do you expect us to say? (considering the possibility that the mission was military and as such anyone with a knowledge of it would not be able to answer you) $\endgroup$
    – Federico
    Commented May 14, 2017 at 13:54
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    $\begingroup$ The aircraft information may be incorrect. I'm interested in how FlightRadar figured out that it is a Bombardier Global 6000 without having the Mode-S code, serial number, or registration number. $\endgroup$
    – Ron Beyer
    Commented May 14, 2017 at 15:16

1 Answer 1

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A recent article in Aviation Week showed a modified Bombardier Global 6000 with a "canoe" type fairing underneath the fuselage which typically houses a variety of radar or electronic intelligence (ELINT) equipment (link (free registration req'd) with pic) (alternate). The UK's RAF flies the Sentinel aircraft which is based on a prior Bombardier model, the Global 5000. So it's certainly possible that the track is a valid orbit path for surveillance in that area.

The USAF E11A is based on a Global 6000. It carries the BACN battlefield communication relay system which allows integrated, real-time communication across several, sometimes incompatible platforms. It is designed to operate at high altitudes to allow coms over mountainous terrain.

Since the Jalalabad airport is currently controlled by US armed forces from the adjacent Forward Operating Base Fenty, it would make sense that a communications aircraft would loiter over the area.

If it is a military flight, it looks from the flight path that it may have originated from Kandahar, where the USAF has a base.

enter image description here
(Source)

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    $\begingroup$ This may be a better explanation than mine given the altitude of the aircraft involved -- most flight checks are conducted at rather low altitudes (usually around the MSA for airways and service volume checks) $\endgroup$
    – UnrecognizedFallingObject
    Commented May 14, 2017 at 18:39
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    $\begingroup$ I edited in some additional information. Hope you don't mind. You can roll back if you want $\endgroup$
    – TomMcW
    Commented May 14, 2017 at 21:27
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    $\begingroup$ You know some engineer was hungry when they named it BACN. $\endgroup$
    – Criticizing Israel not allowed
    Commented May 14, 2017 at 22:31
  • $\begingroup$ @TomMcW Thanks for the additional info! $\endgroup$
    – PeterT
    Commented May 14, 2017 at 23:08

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