F-16s and helo scrambled from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland for potential drone search, 25th Jan, 2025

TEEJ

TEEJ

Senior Member.
I was monitoring the ATC audio for USAF Boeing C-32A/757, serial 09-0018, callsign SAM47 returning to Joint Base Andrews on 25 Jan 2025 and stumbled upon a drone incident.

ATC audio link


Source: https://vocaroo.com/1g4qovMqSNMu


SAM47 USAF Boeing C-32A/757 back up aircraft to Air Force One. Air Force One landed in Miami, Florida. SAM47 put in temporary hold before being vectored into Joint Base Andrews.

Two F-16 scrambled callsign Brave01 and Brave02

Blackjack1 military helo.

Appears that the two F-16s Brave01/Brave02 and helicopter Blackjack1 was tasked with the intercept of what was believed to be a drone. Washington ATC had radar contact with the TOI (Target of Interest) but it wasn't intercepted after the ATC controllers guided the intercepting aircraft onto the target. Location of potential drone was 10 miles north of Joint Base Andrews and near to Freeway Airport. Time was approximately 2030 PM Eastern Standard Time 0130 GMT.

Summary of the moments of interest in the audio.

Washington Potomac ATC to SAM47 "Just be advised that we have an active scramble about 10 miles north of Andrews and just waiting on the jet to depart there ... active intercept so that is the reason for the delay vector "
Washington Potomac ATC "Blackjack1 are you guys visual with whatever you guys are looking for?"
Blackjack1 "not visual with TOI (Target of Interest) at this time"
Washington Potomac ATC "Blackjack1 the target is off your 3 o'clock about a mile southbound no altitude.
Blackjack1 "And searching Blackjack1"
Washington Potomac ATC calling Blackjack1 "The TOI (Target of Interest) is a potential drone between 5 thousand and 6 thousand.
Washington Potomac ATC vectoring SAM47 USAF 757 into Joint Base Andrews.

TOI (Target of Interest) is now off your about 1 two 2 o'clock, 4 miles south bound might be in the vicinity of Freeway airport.
Washington Potomac ATC vectoring helo Blackjack1 to potential drone "Bearing to the TOI (Target of Interest) He is off your 2:30 3 o'clock and about half a mile .... TOI is now off your 3 o'clock we expect you guys are slowly moving past him there. TOI is behind you now so maybe perhaps a 030 heading might be best ... TOI is off your about 9 o'clock now 9 o'clock in the turn there and about half a mile. Blackjack1 acknowledges still searching. TOI is now off your 9 o'clock for about 2 miles. Go ahead and turn left 190 TOI is moving to your 12 o'clock and about a mile. Blackjack1 acknowledges and states that he is levelling off at 4,000. 11 o'clock and less than half a mile. Blackjack1 confirms searching. Blackjack1 the TOI is behind you now 7 o'clock and about a mile and a mile and a half if you want to make a left turn heading like 020 ... TOI is behind you now 6 o'clock and less than a mile go ahead and make a left turn back 190

Washington Potomac ATC to Medstar3 (Medevac helo) "Active intercept up ahead there about 5 miles south of your position see if you guys can see anything up ahead" Medstar3 confirm the traffic in sight and will maintain visual separation.

Washington Potomac ATC to Blackjack1 "TOI is 12 o'clock and less than a mile ...
Washington Potomac ATC to Brave01 "Traffic is behind you now about 2 miles ... suggest right turn heading like 320

TOI is ... you guys are either right on top of it or right underneath it? ... he is indicating 60 knots so if that helps you guys?

Washington Potomac ATC to Brave1/Blackjack1 "Just advise please TOI intercept?"
Blackjack1 "Wilco we are still no joy for Blackjack1"
Washington Potomac ATC "Standby Blackjack1 you said TOI intercepted or no?
Blackjack1 "Negative, negative for Blackjack1"
Washington Potomac ATC "Brave01 just to verify TOI intercepted or negative?" (Brave01 response not heard)
Blackjack1 "Negative for Blackjack1, negative"
Washington Potomac ATC "Blackjack1 ... navigation is approved and just be advised I'm not showing a target anymore no more TOI (Target of Interest) on my screen.
Blackjack1 "Is there any aircraft in front of us low level that you can see?.
Washington Potomac ATC "Blackjack1 that is helicopter Medstar3 going southbound to Saint Mary's ... that is an aircraft that I am talking to.
Blackjack1 "Good copy, Blackjack1"
Washington Potomac ATC "Brave01 turn right heading 320 last know radar ping was northwest of your postion at 6 miles.
Brave01 and Blackjack1 helo are orbiting.
Washington Potomac ATC "Blackjack1 last know radar position 12 o'clock a half mile"
Brave01 and Brave02 are orbiting at 6,000 then eventualy vectored to return to Joint Base Andrews. F-16s pass below helo Blackjack1 who is flying above 3,500 feet.
The rest of the comms are Brave flight and Blackjack1 returning to Joint Base Andrews.

ADSBExchange playback where USAF Boeing C-32A/757, 09-0018, can be seen landing at Andrews after being placed on temporary hold.

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?replay=2025-01-26-01:29&lat=38.744&lon=-76.618&zoom=11.0

Freeway Airport area is where the Target of Interest/potential drone was detected.

1737939624643.png
 
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We've also reached out to the Air Force, the 316th Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, the 113th Wing, the White House, the FAA, the Coast Guard, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), and Freeway Airport for more information about what happened and what response measures were taken. In addition, we contacted the FBI, which is already investigating a wave of drone sightings on the East Coast, to see if they are looking into this incident. The FAA deferred our questions to the Defense Department. The 316th Wing at Andrews Air Force Base deferred our questions to the 89th Airlift Wing. We will update this story with any pertinent information provided.
Click to expand...
https://www.twz.com/air/c-32-forced...16s-scrambled-to-intercept-drone-near-capital
 
Mendel said:
I'd have expected a "rotary wing air intercept" unit to do better at finding a target that was shown persistently on air traffic control radar.
Some people are going to be very busy figuring out what happened there.
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree. The helo would have been equipped with infra red/electro optical turret. I wonder if the F-16s were equipped with infra red/electro optical pods?

Was it just a radar anomaly? From 2023


WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said late on Saturday a radar anomaly prompted the temporary closure of airspace to civilian airplanes in Montana but no threatening object was detected.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) sent fighter aircraft to investigate but the aircraft "did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation."

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us...ana-defense-department-activities-2023-02-12/
 
Eburacum said:
Am I right in saying there was a Medevac helicopter up there too? Yet no-one saw anything.
Click to expand...
The medevac helicopter would have kept a safe distance from the intercept helicopter, and would not have been actively searching for that object.
 
I am put in mind of the Kaikoura Lights case from NZ, in which a news crew on a plane looking for UFOs was fed a large number of target sightings, most of which were likely spurious. I assume some advancement in the state of radar equipment/software since then -- how likely is it that the target was a not indicating an actual target in flight, but some vaguery of radar?

(A discussion of the Kaikoura case and the radar issues involved covers three chapters in Philip J. Klass's "UFOs: The Public Deceived." Prometheus Books, 1983, beginning with Chapter 25. Sometime when I have a minute I'll read back through that and through our thread on this case, linked here https://www.metabunk.org/threads/kaikoura-lights.12064/ -- if there is info there that is not here, I'll try and fill it in over in that thread.)
 
And the two F-16s flew underneath the helicopter? I trust that was safe.

This seems to have been a very expensive sortie with no useful result.
 
Eburacum said:
And the two F-16s flew underneath the helicopter? I trust that was safe.
Click to expand...
It was.
Eburacum said:
This seems to have been a very expensive sortie with no useful result.
Click to expand...
Airforce One was in the vicinity, so the fighters would be scrambled on an unidentified target as a matter of course.
The useful result is that a potential threat to the POTUS was investigated and found non-threatening.
 
Eburacum said:
And the two F-16s flew underneath the helicopter? I trust that was safe.

This seems to have been a very expensive sortie with no useful result.
Click to expand...
As I understand it in general most active service pilots have to maintain flight hours, from what I read flight hours in operations like this are removed from potential training flights that would otherwise happen to maintain flight experience.
 
Mendel said:
It was.

Airforce One was in the vicinity, so the fighters would be scrambled on an unidentified target as a matter of course.
The useful result is that a potential threat to the POTUS was investigated and found non-threatening.
Click to expand...

Air Force One, USAF VC-25A/747, 92-9000, was over Florida at the time. It landed at Miami International

1738095805468.png


SAM47 that was put on hold for a short period was the back-up to Air Force One. USAF C-32A/757, serial 09-0018.

1738096011135.png


They fly without showing callsign on flight trackers due to a security protocol. This security protocol first started with Trump's domestic flights back in March 2020 and continued into Biden's term. Radio callsign takes priority.
 
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TEEJ said:
Air Force One, USAF VC-25A/747, 92-9000, was over Florida at the time. It landed at Miami International

SAM47 that was put on hold for a short period was the back-up to Air Force One. USAF C-32A/757, serial 09-0018.
Click to expand...
You are, of course, correct.
I assumed that a potential attacker could not be relied upon to know that.
I also assumed that this kind of effort would not have been triggered for, say, a regular cargo flight.
 
jarlrmai said:
As I understand it in general most active service pilots have to maintain flight hours, from what I read flight hours in operations like this are removed from potential training flights that would otherwise happen to maintain flight experience.
Click to expand...
Which, incidentally, is why there are so many flyovers at sporting events. Might as well roll up a "time on target" drill with a PR mission.
 
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