The mystery circles have been going on almost daily for over a week. They were usually constrained to just the one along the shoreline by West Haven and New Haven. This afternoon was the first time I saw them go somewhere else. They fly out of Long Island MacArthur Airport (KISP).I went out on Tuesday 8/3 to try spot them and was able to get some terrible shots barely good enough to actually ID them. Tail # N23FH but they identified with the towers as "Bash 23" If you google "NYPD cessna caravan", you will find some interesting articles about alleged misuse of the aircraft.
more than likely that particular 208 is equipped with a StingRay IMSI Device, and the legality of abusing that particular device..... are gargantuan. based on the close range orbit, they are probably looking for someone and using IMSI Trapper to locate and track a cell phone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker Also, are you absolutely sure it was NYPD flying or even had a NYPD Officer onboard? the Federal Gov contracts small planes like this for the same reason and yes, NYPD's 208 .
and turns out, is a contracted aircraft FOX HOTEL HOLDINGS LLC RONKONKOMA , NY, US is not actually owned by the NYPD, which would explain the interesting base location. Black protrusion under belly just behind leading edge would be your StingRay Antenna
My bet is "Fox Hotel Holdings" isn't a real company, like "Chaparral Air Group" is a front for DEA aircraft. "The New York Police Department had obtained the modified Cessna C208B Grand Caravan, which carries the civil registration number N23FH, though a Preparedness Grant, also known as a “Non-Disaster” grant, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2017." - from an article on The Drive It could have been badger they were saying. Much like the cops I deal with at work, they were mumbling on the radio.
i'll counter your bet and say that the FEMA Grant is THAT plane, just under a shell name. NYPD has a multitude of aircraft ( mostly rotor ops and they are all visually identifiable as such ) this particular aircraft, if it is in fact owned by NYPD, would not be doing ops in Connecticut unless chartered by said PD and approved by the state for out of state operations. the only exception to this is, Fox Hotel Holdings is the real owner and can charter the aircraft wherever they desire and by who. ill do some digging on that Fox Hotel Holdings, i have a few friends who are Feds
i looked at your photos of the plane again, according to the Drive Article, plausibly they have a 'Harvester' kit, but it's definitely not there on your photos, and that pod is huge. so its not capable of looking for dirty bombs anymore, what is there is a Optoelectronic ball turret. that being a Optical/TI/FLIR camera. The photo i provided shows a StingRay sensor, but in your photos that is also missing. here is the kicker, ive dealt with the StingRay system before, it's not modular like that. the controller box is, but the antennas and the wiring, nope. either they are refitting the aircraft on the fly with days on end of work orders. that optoelectronic ball turret is at least 3-5 days of work to install and remove. a StingRay device 2-4 Days. something like ASPECT or Harvester? at least a week plus calibration flights.
