The air component of the U.S. Army’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is looking for a technological tool based on data management that can help them make certain airplanes disappear from public view.

The technology is sought because online flight observers have been able to track sensitive aircraft movements through aggregation and analysis of publicly available flight data related to the aircraft transponders themselves. Data-driven tool
Recently, there have been many posts on social media about dual-use flights being tracked via transponders. According to The Intercept, the Joint Special Operations Command wants a technology that “leverages real-time and historical data, such as trip records and details of specific aircraft with correlation to open-source information, social media and flight reports,” but not for tracking, but rather to prevent an aircraft from being tracked by prying eyes.

The tool would inform control officials what a specific aircraft has received in the past and how observers would link the aircraft to special operations. The information would help command select an airframe that is less likely to arouse public curiosity. Basically they want a tool that would allow them to choose the type of aircraft that goes most unnoticed by the public depending on the area and the conditions under which you have to operate.

Sketching out a hypothetical situation, the command wrote, “In determining whether the planned movement is suitable and appropriate, the ‘Aircraft Flight Profile Management Database Tool’ reveals that the aircraft is primarily associated with a distinctly different geographic area,” which often serves as an indication to air trackers that something noteworthy might be happening. In addition, the tool should do a very particular job: by scouring the web and social media, it should identify whether any flight enthusiasts or interested parties in general have identified the flight that should be kept under wraps, and then it should inform those responsible for it of the filtered information about the flight and thus of possible alternative options that might keep the flight confidential.

It is unclear how this tool should operate, but it certainly highlights how, even for special forces, it is difficult to remain hidden in today’s world of social media.