Two drones over the English Channel today near the England/France sea border.. Here's one of them: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=407b0a. Unfortunately the other one disappeared from the map before I could note its hex number, but that one gave the type and it was a Schiebel. Not your common hobbyist drone but one of these (For scale, they are about waist height.) Flying low and tight circling in certain areas - looking for illegal immegrants?
god I'm addicted to flight tracking and ADSB Exchange. I have been a railfan most my life but now I'm getting in to place spotting since last August. and i find flight tracking addictive and always looking for something interesting. always looking to see what's out there and where they're going.
That's either the other one I saw yesterday that disappeared from the map too quickly, or there are more than two of these things flying around! Interesting Squawk code on that one - 0023 - "aircraft engaged in actual search and rescue operation". The one I saw yesterday has been out early this morning too but no squawk code available. Also noticed mine is on ADS-B, yours is MLAT!
Well there is indeed a third one out now: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=425179. ADS-B but no type or squawk info.
Shortly after that one went home, the coast guard helicopter was out: Call signs beginning with CG are generally the Coast Guard, and a squawk of 0023 is a further clue. Yesterday's two drones seemed to come from the same airport as the Coast Guard, but todays was different. It did circles immediately after takeoff and the same circles before landing: Zooming in, this is on a peice of land near a couple of transmitters. And just over the road... The Duke Of York Military School.
There's a Heron up in the Med https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=4d232d . Can't tell what it's squawking
In the light of further observation I would like to add to some of the earlier posts about the drones which are now regularly flying over the English channel, mostly on the English/French border. G-UASA (407951) is a Schiebel Camcopter UAV, and takes off from, or near, Lydd airport (coverage is iffy, could be from a ship). Image from Schiebel web site. G-TEKR (407B0A) is a twin-engined 4m long drone that needs a runway take off (Lydd airport). It is a Tekever AR5 Evolution MK2 (https://www.tekever.com/models/ar5/). Image from Tekever web site. AR3A (425178) and AR3B (425179) have no type info but I'm guessing from the callsigns are probably the catapult-launched, 1.7m long Tekever AR3 which are launched from the cliffs above Dover. There is HM Coastguard HQ nearby (as well as the military college mentioned earlier). In recent days the launch site has moved nearer the Coastguard HQ although still on the same piece of land, which is also the site of some transmitters with military connections dating back to WW2. (https://www.tekever.com/models/ar3/). Image from Tekever web site.
