08/13/20 23:42:40 UTC
252.900 MHz
LITCHFIELD, IL
 RCH717T C-17 #08-8023 Calling Hawk Eye Ops.
 
08/10/20 05:25:15 UTC
243.000 MHz
BULLHEAD CITY, AZ
 no voice ir digi sounds / just squelch braks a couple min ago
 
08/04/20 22:25:30 UTC
319.175 MHz
ALGER, OH
 fort wayne A-10's, a2a
 
08/04/20 22:10:58 UTC
226.025 MHz
ALGER, OH
 fort wayne A-10's, A2A
 
07/23/20 19:08:43 UTC
298.300 MHz
MINOCQUA, WI
 F-16s from Duluth ANG (WOLF callsigns) in Big Bear MOA. AWACS SCOUT03H directing exercise.
 
08/09/20 07:38:31 UTC
258.850 MHz
pirates
 
08/09/20 07:38:00 UTC
253.650 MHz
pirates
 
08/01/20 03:57:36 UTC
285.500 MHz
Refuel Track comms
 
08/01/20 03:56:07 UTC
289.600 MHz
Combat aircraft flight chit chat after in flight refuel
 
07/30/20 14:24:37 UTC
276.600 MHz
JTAC freq mentioned by Helo pilot, heard talking on 70.4 NFM. Vic of KVUJ, Stanly Co NC. 07/28/2020, 1515h -AJ
 
07/30/20 14:20:53 UTC
70.400 MHz
Helo A2A "...visual on you. There are some JTACs on the ground. You can monitor on 276.6 if you are interested..." "OK, I'll stay above.." Immediately prior had checked in with KVUJ tower. PL 151.4, 07/28/2020, 1515h -AJ
 
07/10/20 16:35:07 UTC
61.500 MHz
M0378/20 - AERODROME FLIGHT STRIP 2 (PU895947) F. CO, 3/82ND AVN REG WILL SET UP EQUIPMENT AND PROVIDE AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES FOR AIRCRAFT OPERATING IN THE VICINITY OF FLIGHT STRIP 2 FROM 7 JULY 2020 UNTIL 17 JULY 2020. THE FLIGHT STRIP IS OPEN TO ALL ROTARY WING AIRCRAFT. SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED FROM 0900L TO 1700L DAILY. OPERATIONAL FREQUENCIES ARE 252.725 (UHF) , 141.425 (VHF) AND 61.50 (FM), FACILITY CALLSIGN IS "BADBOY RADIO". ALL AIRCRAFT MUST ALSO MONITOR SAAF FREQUENCIES. 09 JUL 20:28 2020 UNTIL 17 JUL 22:00 2020. CREATED: 09 JUL 20:28 2020 -AJ
 

HAVEQUICK Military Radio System:
What it Is and What It's Not

HQ, HAVE QUICK are other names the HAVEQUICK Frequency Hopping system is referred to as.


In this article I hope to give you a better understanding on what the Military HAVEQUICK radio system is, how it works, and what it's not.

It is important to remember that HAVEQUICK is NOT a form nor was intended to be a form of encryption. Many HAVEQUICK transmissions are voice analog and in the clear. Yes, encryption can be used. However the HAVEQUICK radio system was not developed with the intent of being an encryption system. I have personally heard some HAVEQUICK encrypted comms on the scanner however most of the HAVEQUICK transmission were in the clear and you could usually make out a word or two during the transmission.

HAVEQUICK is a frequency hopping system is used as an anti-jamming communication system. Basically the HAVEQUICK system uses a series of 16 UHF AM (225-380 MHz) radio frequencies. During a radio transmission a computer in the aircraft rapidly switches the transmission between the 16 pre-set frequencies, both the length and order of frequency selection are "random" and are based on very precise timing. The the transmitter and receiver must be "in-sync" as to the timing of each frequency switch or the received signal will be broken.

The perfered method of frequency switch timing is via a GPS receiver attached to the HAVEQUICK radio. However GPS is not always a perfect method. GPS signals can be blocked during various maneuvers a jet figher is performing during a dog-fight. GPS signal can also be blocked by another aircraft above, blocking line-of-site to the GPS satelittes. Due to these possiblities HAVEQUICK radios have other methods of getting a "timing-tick" signal.

In the absence of GPS equipment, a Time Signal Set (TSS) can pass Time-Of-Day (TOD) over-the-air to any HAVEQUICK radio. These TSS's are normally installed at Air Force bases or on large surface vessels.

Another method of sending TOD information to a HAVEQUICK radio is from an AWACS or JSTARS aircraft. These aircraft have onboard rubidium oscillators that can pass an accurate TOD signal to any HAVEQUICK radio. I have personally heard these TOD signals, below is a YouTube video I made of such a signal.

Video of Actual TOD Timing Signal from an AWACS during Exercises in Florida


When you are searching the Military Air Band (225-380 MHz) and your scanner stops on what seems like a transmission that was the length of a word or two, that was probably a HAVEQUICK transmission. The table below outlines the HAVEQUICK frequenices. These frequencies are what are known as the "Frequency Managed Training Net".

FMT-Net for Continental United States
Channel DesignationFrequency (AM)
Preset Channel 20:235.050 MHz
Preset Channel 19:225.150 MHz
Preset Channel 18:252.925 MHz
Preset Channel 17:239.950 MHz
Preset Channel 16:271.950 MHz
Preset Channel 15:267.850 MHz
Preset Channel 14:262.450 MHz
Preset Channel 13:257.250 MHz
Preset Channel 12:314.450 MHz
Preset Channel 11:308.750 MHz
Preset Channel 10:303.275 MHz
Preset Channel 9:298.650 MHz
Preset Channel 8:293.550 MHz
Preset Channel 7:289.050 MHz
Preset Channel 6:284.150 MHz
Preset Channel 5:279.750 MHz
TOD AWACS/JSTARS signal 287.450 MHz



I have personally heard HAVEQUICK comms on all of the above frequencies except for 298.650. That could simply be that over the years my searching scanner just never was at the right place at the right time.

The above frequencies maintain a 4 MHz minimum separation and have been standardized for continental United States FMT-Nets. These frequencies are in the order in which they will be used for training by the Tactical Air Command.

You may ask why Preset Channels 0 - 4 do not exist in the above table. I do not know the answer to that question, but I do have some thoughts. There are 2 different types of nets, FMT-Nets as outlined here and are used for training in the CONUS. Then there are T-Nets. I believe the empty channels deal with allowing open memory in the HAVEQUICK radios to allow for the coded "Word-of-the-Day" which are used in T-Nets. Just a thought.

I had always know a little about what HAVEQUICK was and how it functioned. However until doing some research I didn't know the HAVEQUICK frequency order until I found an online non-classified document. Now with this information I am going to try and scan HAVEQUICK and hear the entire transmission. My first thought is to enter the above frequencies into a bank, in the order as listed above without any delay. Next time there are HAVEQUICK transmissions in Florida I hope to learn more.

I hope you've enjoyed this article.