Plane
Technology
ACARS, SATCOM, BTO/BFO, the 7th arc, and the remote-autopilot trail. QF-16 proves a fighter could fly unmanned in 2013. Patents prove a concept. Neither proves fitment on 9M-MRO.
EvidenceOpen20 Sep 2026
Remote-control claims versus evidence gaps
Patent, QF-16, Teso FMS proof-of-concept · installation on 9M-MRO still open
EvidenceConfirmed7 Mar 2014 16:00 UTC
Inmarsat signalling-unit log for 9M-MRO
Perth Ground Earth Station · 7–8 March 2014
EvidenceOfficial finding15 Mar 2014 00:00 UTC
BTO range rings and BFO Doppler residuals
Inmarsat / Ashton et al. · Journal of Navigation
EvidenceOfficial finding8 Mar 2014 00:19 UTC
The 7th arc
00:19:29 UTC aircraft-initiated log-on
TimelineConfirmed7 Mar 2014 17:07 UTC
Last ACARS transmission
17:07:29 UTC
EvidenceConfirmed19 Feb 2003 00:00 UTC
Boeing US7142971B2 — uninterruptible automatic control
Remote engagement · disconnected onboard controls
EvidenceConfirmed4 Nov 2003 00:00 UTC
Cubic US6641087B1 — anti-hijack remote pilot
Commercial retrofit · satellite relay · cockpit exclusion
EvidenceConfirmed19 Sep 2013
Boeing / USAF QF-16 unmanned full-scale demonstration, 2013
Pilotless fighter-class jet · not a 777 and not 9M-MRO
EvidenceConfirmed10 Apr 2013
Hugo Teso, 2013 — FMS proof-of-concept
Hack in the Box · research demonstration, not a 9M-MRO finding
EvidenceConfirmed4 Mar 2014
Boeing–NAVAIR delivery order signed 4 March 2014
$955,853.54 · N0001914D0012 · engineering/technical support · St Louis
Open questionOpen
Did 9M-MRO have any path for external flight-control commands?
Open questionOpen
What was actually fitted on 9M-MRO — SDU, FMS, data buses, 2012 Shanghai repair?
OrganisationConfirmed
Inmarsat
Classic Aero I-3 · Perth Ground Earth Station