ADS‑B
Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast, Flightradar24’s primary GPS-based tracking technology.
How Flightradar24 works
Flightradar24 combines data from a global ADS‑B receiver network with dozens of other sources to create the most comprehensive view of global air traffic on a real-time moving map. With more than 50,000 receivers on seven continents and in space, we’re able to track hundreds of thousands of flights each day all around the world. Flightradar24 combines the tracking data from each aircraft with commercial flight plan and schedule data as well as aircraft information from our database of more than 1.5 million aircraft to provide the most accurate and impactful information possible.
Where does the tracking data come from?
Tracking data on Flightradar24 comes primarily from Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS‑B) signals sent by aircraft. These signals include aircraft identification, position, speed, altitude, and more. Some older civilian aircraft and many military aircraft are only equipped with Mode S transponders. These send less data and require Flightradar24 to calculate the aircraft’s position through a process called Multilateration (MLAT). MLAT is also increasingly important for mitigating the effects of GPS interference on ADS‑B signals, including jamming and spoofing.
Flightradar24 also takes in satellite-based ADS‑B signals, where satellites equipped with ADS‑B receivers collect data from aircraft outside our terrestrial ADS‑B network's coverage area and send that data to the Flightradar24 network. In addition to ADS‑B and MLAT, Flightradar24 also receives radar data for live flights in North America and Australia, FLARM and glider tracking from Open Glider Network, and other sources. A growing source of tracking data is UAT, which is a standard used primarily for smaller aircraft flying only below 18,000 feet in the United States.
Learn more about the technologies we use
MLAT
Multilateration (MLAT) uses calculated data to track aircraft with older transponders.
UAT
Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) is similar to ADS‑B and is used mainly by general aviation aircraft in the United States.
ADS‑C
Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Contract, ADS‑C uses satellites to coordinate tracking over remote areas, like oceans.
Enriching the tracking data
Flightradar24 enriches the position data received from each aircraft with third-party and proprietary data to provide a comprehensive view of the skies.