Not-so-stealthy RCMP spy plane circles Vaughan, Bradford

Ottawa aviation specialist Steffan Watkins says RCMP plane flew for 3 days in airspace above York Region, Bradford

Yorkregion.com
September 3, 2020
Jeremy Grimaldi

Was there a spy plane flying over Vaughan and Bradford for a handful of days in mid-August?

Not surprisingly the RCMP won’t speak on the matter.

But one Ottawa aviation expert is certain the spy agency’s Pilatus PC-12/47E was conducting its missions and possible surveillance on those days, circling each community a number of times.

Now he’s wondering why it was so easy to keep track of the supposedly covert plane with nothing more than a computer and an interest in the RCMP’s activities.

“They need to take better measures to hide their movements from suspects,” he said.

It began on August 13 when Steffan Watkins, a research consultant, specializing in tracking planes and ships, using open source data, noticed the $6 million dollar Pilatus flying from the airport in London, Ont., to Vaughan before flying to Bradford.

It was flying 124 knots at an altitude of 9,275 ft.

The plane conducted this flight under ADS-P, the same form of transponder surveillance (broadcasting information on the identity of the plane including speed, height, GPS location) used on all commercial airliners, that can be viewed by anyone with the click of a button.

The following day the plane switched things up, this time flying a similar route but circling the communities fewer times at 119 knots and 9,300 ft.

But this time they flew under Mode-S, a secondary transponder that doesn’t broadcast geographical location, but does beacon most other things about the plane.

Then on August 18 it was seen again in the Vaughan and the York University area in S-Mode.

At one point in time, in the last five-10 years, before ‘planespotting’ became a more computer enhanced hobby, Mode-S would have been considered a more stealthy way to move.

However, Watkins points out, that now it’s not stealthy at all, rather the equivalent of an “emperor’s new clothes” of transponder obfuscation.

“What may have once been good-enough security, is no longer,” he added. “If I can figure it out, so can the gangs and terrorists. The equipment that is needed for a lone biker or terrorist hideout to detect circling aircraft runs $20-$200, and the setup is trivial. The gear is readily available to anyone to watch aircraft off-line, in isolation.”

He added that should the RCMP be investigating the Hells Angels, for example, it would be preferential if members didn't know it.

This is not the first time the RCMP has been caught flying missions above communities.

In November 2019 Stittsville residents, outside of Ottawa, complained about a plane droning on overhead.

Its appearance raised plenty of questions, because only months before in Kingston a youth was charged with terrorism-related offences over an alleged bomb plot soon after the same plane was spotted flying overhead again and again, at odd times.

As for what exactly the RCMP was doing on those days in York Region, no one at the agency was willing to speak about it or whether they should alter its techniques in light of Watkins’ comments.

Sgt. Lucie Lapointe said there will be no information forthcoming.

“I’m sorry but we cannot comment on the nature of our RCMP Air Services activities on those dates,” she wrote in an email. “To maintain the integrity of investigations, we do not comment on specific techniques or tools used in the course of investigations.”