What we track
- Live military ADS-B — airplanes.live /mil + /hex with adsb.fi failover, unfiltered and no-auth, polled every 5 minutes.
- Hex / type / callsign classification — the four E-4B airframes are matched by verified ICAO24 hex (ADFEB3-ADFEB6), then by aircraft type code (E4/E6/VC25), then by callsign (SAM###, EXEC1F/EXEC2F, OLYMP*, JAKE*, HOMER*). Hexes seen with a matched type are added to a persistent fleet registry.
- Per-flight telemetry — position, altitude, velocity, heading, squawk, on_ground state.
Why watch it
Activations of the E-4B and E-6B reflect strategic posture. SAM and AF flights map executive movement. Nightwatch in the air without a public reason is the single highest-signal indicator we track here.