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Part 3D: Military Aircraft
B-2A Spirit: Photo by
MSgt. Rose Reynolds, United States Air Force.
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Most military aircraft communications are in the military (UHF)
aircraft band, located between 225 to 400 MHz. All radio scanners in Category
6: Continuous Coverage Scanners, can receive this band. Aircraft
communications will be in AM mode while satellite communications in this
band will be in NFM mode. Military aircraft sometimes also use the
Civilian Aircraft Band (108 to 137 MHz), especially when flying into a
civilian airport. They may also be heard in the 137 to 144 MHz and 148 to
150.8 MHz government bands. The 225-400 MHz Military Aircraft Radio Band,
also known as the "UHF aero" or "UHF Air" band, is shown in purple in the
radio diagram below. The 137-144 MHz and 148-150.8 MHz
government bands are shown in red, while the civilian aircraft band is
shown in blue.
Monitoring Military Aircraft
Like commercial aircraft, military aircraft may be heard for distances
of well over 100 miles, depending on the terrain and your receiving
antenna. Even if you don't live near a military base you should still be
able to hear some communications in this band. Unlike the civilian
aircraft band (108-137 MHz), communications in the military aircraft band
are far more elusive. Fewer communications will be happening at any given
time, and there are far more frequencies for the communications to be
spread over. As a result, it may take a significant amount of searching
with your radio scanner, often for hours at a time, to hear many
communications. The best way to find new frequencies is to search a small
portion of the band at a time using a radio scanner with a fast search
speed. You may want to leave for scanner searching while you engage in
other tasks.
An
aerial refueling training mission involving two F-15 Eagles (twin fins),
two F-16 Fighting Falcons, and a KC-135R Stratotanker: Photo by MSgt
Marvin Krause, United States Air Force.
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if you hear a conversation, you can save the frequency and continue
searching.
In summary, any scanner in Category
6: Continuous Coverage Scanners can monitor the 225-400 MHz
Military Aircraft Radio Band. Some receivers in Categories 3, 4, and
5 can also monitor this band even though they are not Continuous Coverage
receivers and therefore are not listed in Category 6; check the
frequency coverage to find out. Any scanner in Categories 2, 3, 4,
5, and 6 can monitor the 108-137 MHz Civilian Aircraft Radio Band, and the
137-144 MHz and 148-150.8 MHz government radio bands and therefore may
hear some military activity.
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