EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon Quietly Authorized “Temporary Civilian Flight Tracking Disruption Zones” Over 23 U.S. Cities

Documents obtained via a FOIA request filed last fall reveal that the Department of Defense has quietly authorized what it calls “Temporary Civilian Flight Tracking Disruption Zones” — affecting the visibility of air traffic data over at least 23 major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Denver, and Philadelphia.

The internal directive, circulated among FAA and NORAD personnel in October 2024, outlines a coordinated protocol to disable public access to civilian transponder data in “high-activity zones” when “classified aerial assets” are in proximity. The document refers to this as “Controlled Situational Obscurity.”

While military aircraft often operate under radar silence, experts say the intentional suppression of civilian aircraft visibility — including commercial flights — is highly unusual and legally questionable.

“Blanketing whole metro areas in data silence is not standard protocol,” said a retired FAA controller who reviewed the memo. “This isn’t about national security. This is about opacity.”

Independent flight tracking services such as ADS-B Exchange and FlightAware reported “sudden data dropouts” over several cities in the past six months. At the time, no explanation was offered.

When reached for comment, a Department of Defense spokesperson replied only: “We do not disclose operational protocols relating to airborne national security assets.”

Commercial airlines have remained silent, though one pilot privately confirmed to Leak-Social that cockpit crews have received “nonstandard” flight path updates during affected windows.

Mainstream media has yet to cover the memo. NBC ran a segment this morning titled “Why Skipping Breakfast May Help Your Brain.”

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