Cypherpunk Underground is here to prepare you for the dystopian future. Each Cypherpunk Underground post will offer a new bit of information on a multitude of topics from both the digital and physical world. An index of all chapters can be here

Chapter 1- Evading the Eyes in the Sky

Before getting in to how to best evade helicopters there is some helpful information to consider. It is essential that you know what you are up against. Wise Cyperpunks will be experts of their environment. It should be known which departments and agencies in your area have aerial assets. Police Departments are often very public about their aircraft. They share info about them on their websites, social media, and in press releases with the media. Often the exact model and its features can be attained in press releases that follow a new purchase. After attaining this info you can dig deeper OSINT , the call signs and the home airfield of the chopper of and it’s crew.

By knowing the helicopter and its home base you can then deduce its effective “bubble” in your area. For example, a common police helicopter is the Airbus H135. Visiting Airbus’s website tells us that the H135 is capable of 156 miles per hour and has a maximum range of 342 miles. Ok, 342 miles sounds like quite a big range right? Not so fast. You have to think of whether it’s airborne or not when the pursuit begins, in which case it may have already consumed fuel. You also need to think that wherever the helicopter goes that it must return to its home base. With that in mind I would estimate that the helicopters effective bubble is roughly half of its maximum range.

Back to call signs and tail numbers. What can you do with information? There are several apps for mobile devices that broadcast police scanners. Choose one that allows you to have a bookmark of your favorites, or based off GPS location. (On a non-attributable mobile device Anon) When listening to the scanner you will be able to hear when air support is requested, and the dialog between air and ground units. Tail numbers are useful when you are unsure if the helicopter is currently airborne. Using free apps like FlightRadar24, you can track the aircrafts location in real time. Use these tools to your advantage.

Urban Evasion

Urban environments offer the best chances of escape from aerial assets. This is due to the density of vehicles, people, and “dead zones” of observation. Depending on the situation, there are a few courses of action you can take.

Vehicles:

Vehicles can be a blessing or a curse during an evasion. I’m sure many of you have watched police chases in cities where suspects are fleeing in vehicles. Often these suspects are ultimately caught. A vehicle is an easy target to keep track of from the air. In daylight hours these helicopters can employ HD stabilized cameras with optical zooms are great as 120x. This allows the helicopter to sit high above the city and still keep visual on you. Also consider the fact that the helicopter can travel in straight lines whereas you may have to make turns or navigate traffic and other obstructions. You will likely not successfully evade by using a vehicle. Your best bet will be to ditch this vehicle in an area that allows multiple indoor escape routes or obfuscates you among a crowd.

*Caveat: Depending on your situation you may be able to travel in places the helicopters cannot. Consider the flight paths of commercial, private, and military aircraft in your area. Airspace around commercial airports and military bases is often restricted for safety reasons. Law enforcement will need to get clearance to fly in the vicinity of these areas. This may buy you some time to hide and create distance on your pursuer. Your best bet is indoors, but you don’t want to go to a place where you will be cordoned and surrounded. Think of shopping malls, public markets, subways, grocery stores, etc. You should also be trying to change your outfit from that in which you were originally spotted, even change shoes if you can.

The video below shows how just a little bit of "dead zone" can assist evasion in an urban enviroment

Rural evasion

Vehicle

It is highly unlikely that you are in a vehicle that can outrun the helicopter. Most modern vehicles have speed governors installed that will not let cars reach those types of speeds. In the unlikely event that you are evading in a high-performance vehicle you will need to consider a few things. Will you be able to create enough distance from your pursuer before you run out of fuel? What how likely is a roadblock to be staged ahead? Are you traveling towards another city that has a helicopter? Your best case scenario is to find a place to ditch the vehicle and get on foot.

On foot

Depending on the region and time of year rural evasion has the highest likelihood of success. This will also depend on your physical condition and endurance (are you in shape Anon?) Your first goals are to become undetected by the helicopter and to create distance between you and your pursuers on the ground. Seek areas with dense overhead foliage, and low light. Continue breaking contact until you are certain that you are not being observed. The time in which that helo can hover and search is finite. It is imperative that you are not re-acquired before the helicopter leaves station. Once off station you be able to move more freely and get out of the initial search area. Think of evasion in two sepparate ways, one is when you are certain you still observed (RUN!) and the other is when you have successfully got out of sight (SLOW DOWN AND HIDE!)

FLIR:

FLIR stands for Forward Looking InfraRed. FLIR represents the greatest obstacle to an evader. All modern police helicopters use this technology to aid in the location of suspects in hours of darkness. The displays for FLIR can be programmed to be “white hot” or “dark hot” depending on operator preference. FLIR is displayed in black and white gradients based on the temperature of objects. Difference in temperature creates dramatic contrasts easily picked up by the sensor operator. Avoiding detection by these sensors is difficult, but there are some things you can do to help your chances. Avoid movement, as rapid or erratic movement will draw attention to yourself. Staying under dense canopy foliage will not get rid of your signature, but greatly aids in breaking up your human shape. Avoid areas of drastically different temperatures. Stay away from things like rocks, water, and other things that may be hotter or cooler than the surrounding areas. Hiding under cloth, space blankets, or other things can help bring down your signature. But be careful to not allow your body heat to touch or passively warm the materials. This may have the opposite of the intended effect.

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I will leave you with the video below that I found helpful.

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