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Phoenix police surveillance plane #N620FB has been circling for quite a while. Other police video surveillance planes are circling hotspots around the country.
Most of these aircraft capture video in visible and infrared light. Some are equipped with “IMSI catchers”
Most of these aircraft capture video in visible and infrared light. Some are equipped with “IMSI catchers”
Here’s Portland PD’s surveillance plane, #N739MR.
IMSI catchers (“Stingrays”) mimic cellphone towers, and are used by law enforcement to force cellphones to connect to them, thus disclosing their unique IDs (International Mobile Subscriber Identity).
IMSI catchers (“Stingrays”) mimic cellphone towers, and are used by law enforcement to force cellphones to connect to them, thus disclosing their unique IDs (International Mobile Subscriber Identity).
(Oakland PD’s surveillance aircraft, #N510PD)
Aircraft equipped with IMSI catchers—note: it’s unknown if this specific aircraft has one, but many similar aircraft carry them—can create a sort of “crowd census” of unique cellphone IDs.
Aircraft equipped with IMSI catchers—note: it’s unknown if this specific aircraft has one, but many similar aircraft carry them—can create a sort of “crowd census” of unique cellphone IDs.
(Columbus, Ohio PD’s #N556CP)
Armed with these unique IDs, police can determine a cellphone user’s location. They can also use the data gathered by IMSI catchers later, to determine if a cellphone was located during a previous surveillance run.
Armed with these unique IDs, police can determine a cellphone user’s location. They can also use the data gathered by IMSI catchers later, to determine if a cellphone was located during a previous surveillance run.
(St. Louis County PD’s #N911MU)
These aren’t theoretical devices. This isn’t a tinfoil hat conspiracy. It is well documented that law enforcement officials use IMSI catchers (“Stingray” is one model) to surveill crowds, and to track an individual’s location.
These aren’t theoretical devices. This isn’t a tinfoil hat conspiracy. It is well documented that law enforcement officials use IMSI catchers (“Stingray” is one model) to surveill crowds, and to track an individual’s location.
I’ll stipulate this: I do not know which—if any—of the aircraft referenced in this thread are equipped with IMSI catchers. Odds are good, but not certain.
They are *certain* to be recording a considerable amount of video.
They are *certain* to be recording a considerable amount of video.
Why is that significant? Here’s one way:
ARGUS is the next phase of a military aerial surveillance system known as “Gorgon Stare,” and is basically a bunch (nearly 400) of digital camera sensors using four telescopic lenses to capture high res video from 10,000 feet up.
ARGUS is the next phase of a military aerial surveillance system known as “Gorgon Stare,” and is basically a bunch (nearly 400) of digital camera sensors using four telescopic lenses to capture high res video from 10,000 feet up.
Imagine a DVR that had hours of high resolution overhead video of an entire city. Now, imagine that you can see your house in that video. You could rewind from the moment your car arrived at your house, and you’d see everywhere you went before arriving home.
This high-end surveillance tech isn’t typically used by local law enforcement, but they do use systems with similar capabilities: the ability to record hours of footage with enough resolution to visually trace a target vehicle’s travel path, backward and forward in time.
Read more about law enforcement surveillance aircraft in this excellent BuzzFeed News story: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/hidden-spy-planes
