I suspect that information on only Southwest 737 Max having ADS-B Out may be out of date. Southwest announced a program a couple of years ago to equip (part of?) their 737-NG fleet with ADS-B Out. They made points how they were struggling with previous non-availability of suitable approved/integrated components, .. and I also suspect cost. I have no idea how far that program has moved. I do see some Southwest 737 flying around on Flightaware right now with the source showing as to "Flightaware ADS-B" (not say a FAA facility name, or not "Flightaware MLAT"--which would usually indicate a transponder only target). I'll try to do some counting of Southwest traffic stats on my ADS-B receiver in the Bay Area.

Ah the irony that the ADS-B Out effort, the foundation of the FAA Nextgen program, largely designed to benefit the airlines, has airlines struggling to try to equip ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Are you seeing other 1090ES Out equipped traffic including airliners reliably? Should be able to see them at ~40+ NM on a PowerFLARM if not it would be good to check out what is going on.

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As for what equipment drones are carrying, I think it's important not to guess. Do we have and idea if drones will be operating much in this MOA -- they were not mentioned at all in what seemed a detailed list of other aircraft. But OTOH I would be disappointed from a training viewpoint if the marines say don't sometimes utilize the 16' wingspan Blackjack drones in training there. Being able to operate those in mountainous regions seems pretty important.

Again I'd hope that it organizations are commenting on this MOA, that they try to find out what surveillance and collision avoidance technology and practices the military intend to use. USN bases like Fallon don't seem to have the same high-external visibility MACA (mid-air collision avoidance) programs that USAF bases have. The USAF MACA contacts I've spoken with have all been pretty responsive, may be good to find the equivalent at Fallon if it exists.


On Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 9:49:10 AM UTC-7, jfitch wrote:
On Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 9:17:54 AM UTC-7, Andy Blackburn wrote:
They will be getting lots of exemptions, lots of them. Not flying ~3/4 of your fleet is not an option. https://www.aviationtoday.com/2019/0...air-force-says

So, if I read this article correctly, 2/3 of fighters aren't scheduled to get ADS-B Out until after 2025. Therefore, I should not assume I'm going to see on my traffic display much of the type of traffic you'd expect to have in a MOA for quite some time. Even thereafter many military aircraft may be flying with ADS-B turned off under exemption since (one might speculate) the typical combat avionics settings wouldn't broadcast GPS locations for the bad guys to track.

Any word on what military drones flying in MOAs will be equipped with?

Andy Blackburn
9B

I don't think I've ever seen a military aircraft on my traffic display. Whether because they don't have the equipment, or it was turned off I don't know. On the other hand, I never see a Southwest 737 either - according to news stories only their 14 737 MAXs are ADS-B equipped, and those are on the ground. The difference is Southwest is controlled traffic and the stuff zipping around an MOA isn't.

We've often said that we (sailplanes) are only one mid-air away from required transponders. We are similarly one mid-air away from these MOAs becoming restricted airspace.