The transponder trick that Putin used to smuggle Assad out of Syria: How dictator escaped in dramatic dash to his private plane, used a slight of hand to evade flight tracker and switched jets in Russia

Daily Mail UK ^ | December 11, 2024 | ED HOLT and OLIVIA CHRISTIE

[Red Badger]

Kremlin sources have revealed the tricks Russia reportedly used to smuggle President Bashar al-Assad out of Syria as his regime suddenly collapsed.

It comes as one of Vladimir Putin's allies confirmed for the first time today that Russia did indeed help the ousted dictator flee to Moscow.

Three sources told Bloomberg News that Moscow organised for Assad to escape via its air base on the Syrian coast, using a 'transponder trick'.

He was reportedly ordered to tell no-one, switch his transponder off and get on his private plane in the capital Damascus.

The aircraft then travelled to Russia’s Khmeimim air base on the Syrian coast, before Assad headed to Moscow, possibly on a military plane, the sources have claimed.

It is understood Putin personally approved Assad's rescue but has no intention of meeting him now he is in exile.

Agents working for the Russian government convinced Assad to leave the country immediately after it became clear he would lose a fight with the rebels, the Kremlin sources said.

It comes after flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed a plane believed to be carrying Assad as he left the Syrian capital Damascus in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The plane headed towards the Mediterranean Sea, before making a U-turn and disappearing from the map.

[fireman15]

As an air traffic controller, for 20 years, I found if a pilot turned off his transponder, we got no altitude readout at all, and it was extremely hard to identify an aircraft.

You are obviously much more aware of how this all works on a day to day basis that I am. And obviously with ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast) the whole game changed. So yes, without a transponder airplanes are just a blip on an air controller's screen. And without the pilot or someone else communicating the position of the aircraft the controller has no way to identify the blip unless it was tracked from takeoff. However, military radar systems can track aircraft and missiles without transponders and determine their altitude.

I assume that this area is under surveillance by military radar systems where the turning off the transponder would not necessarily make much of a difference. But then it all comes down to who is watching, what they are looking for and what their motivations are.

[shotgun]

How in the hell did he accumulate $135B. I went here: https://www.foreignassistance.gov/cd/syria/2022/obligations/0

and that total is only $9.5B

[Red Badger]

“Foreign Aid is poor people in rich countries giving money to rich people in poor countries.” - Ron Paul.................

[shotgun]

sad but true

[fireman15]

Of course. Putin is a well-known genius - just look at how he has begun to resurrect the Soviet Union, masterfully handled

I am very worried for you. You need to start making plans for your future activities. President Trump is taking office on January 20. He plans on ending the Ukrainian boondoggle shortly after this. What are you going to do with yourself after that happens? Are you looking for other situations where your style of whacky war mongering will keep your spirits up? I would hate to think that your wife would try to force you to do something constructive.

[Mark17]

I am not very familiar with the capabilities of different radars. I was only familiar with ATC radar. When I was in Vietnam, it looked someone threw rice on the scope. There were a ton of targets on the scope, but I only paid attention to the aircraft I was controlling. I didn’t care about all the other aircraft on the scope. We were totally dependent on IFF/SIF to identify the aircraft. Without it, we were up a creek.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

False premise. They’re a mix of secular and Islamic forces, and all are agreeing not to touch minorities and to bring the country to peace. Even the Catholic Bishops are saying the narrative that ISIS is taking over is bullshit.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

He plans on ending the Ukrainian boondoggle shortly after this

You sure?

Trump is behaving like he's juggling the nuts (you guys) and the Pro-Ukrainians in his cabinet. You are assuming that the freaks who believe Zelenskyy is running around buying mansions and rolexes are going to run his foreign policy. There's no guarantee of that at all.

[fireman15]

When I was in Vietnam, it looked someone threw rice on the scope. There were a ton of targets on the scope, but I only paid attention to the aircraft I was controlling. I didn't care about all the other aircraft on the scope. We were totally dependent on IFF/SIF to identify the aircraft. Without it, we were up a creek.

I am not sure if we actually have any disagreements. You are obviously far more knowledgeable about air traffic control than I am. I do not find fault with anything that you have said. I respect and appreciate all that you have contributed to the discussion. I stand corrected if I made any misstatements. It was not my intention to get into a discussion about the finer points of transponders and how important they are to our air traffic control system.

There are trigonometric and other techniques used to determine the altitudes of unidentified flying objects using radar, lasers and other technologies which are ground based, on satellites, and on aircraft such as AWACS... by the military and others. I am sure that we agree that the idea that you can evade all detection while you are flying an aircraft in a war zone simply by turning off your transponder is silly.

The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star, one of the precursors to AWACS was used in Vietnam to track Vietnamese MIGs and other aircraft and guide our intercepting aircraft to them or help avoid contact in other types of operations. Even back then those using data provided by the EC-121 were able to provide useful information to our pilots to assist them... I do not know the specifics, but I am sure that approximate altitude was part of the information provided to our pilots.

Was data from EC-121 Warning Star aircraft used by you in your air traffic control duties? Probably not... your role was likely not to guide intercept aircraft to their targets or to help avoid contact with enemy aircraft in other situations. Air traffic controllers in the Middle East were likely not looking for aircraft flying outside of their system by not using their transponders. Air traffic controllers have a specific role to play, and it generally has little to do with the defense or surveillance of air space above war zones. I think that we may have found ourselves in an apples vs. oranges type of discussion.

[Mark17]

I think that we may have found ourselves in an apples vs. oranges type of discussion.

That may be closer to the truth. We did not use the EC 121s for anything. They may very well have been the forerunners of AWACS. I am just not sure what they did. I think AWACS tries to run them together. We tried to keep them apart. I retired in 88, so I am sure they have technology available now, that I would have no clue what to do with. When I was in, we had radar in the tower. For VFR aircraft, stage one was the only thing we could do. It was advisories. Stage 2, is advisories and sequencing. Stage 3, is advisories, sequencing and separation. All we could do, was give was stage 1 services. Now, I hear towers give stage 3 services to VFR aircraft. In order to do that, they must have new technology that I don’t even know about. Things have changed since I retired. 😃

[fireman15]

We did not use the EC 121s for anything. They may very well have been the forerunners of AWACS. I am just not sure what they did.

As you are no doubt already aware, the exact capabilities, roles and uses of Reconnaissance Squadrons and aircraft are by nature... secret. These are by definition spy planes. One of my best friends was in Naval Intelligence stationed on a large aircraft carrier long ago and he still cannot discuss in detail what he did, the methods of data analysis that were used and the technologies that were available.

But the EC 121s and the many other types of reconnaissance aircraft that were retired long ago had very interesting equipment and capabilities. In the absence of advanced digital aids, the men who used this equipment had to use their experiences and brain power to a much larger extent than what is required today. But somehow, they and you did their jobs sometimes with far fewer personnel than is used today.

From personal experience, when I worked in Fire Communications, we had two people working 24-hour shifts and a supervisor who worked an 8-hour shift. The computers we had to assist us ran DOS with rudimentary capabilities. The size of the city that I worked in has changed very little since that time, but these days the communications center uses 3 times as many personnel with a far more advanced computer system to assist. And yet it is these days that you hear about people being put on hold and having to wait for assistance while they or a loved one is experiencing a life-threatening emergency.