Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official aircraft, Ilyushin IL-96-300PU, widely known as the "Flying Kremlin”, became the most tracked flight in the world on Thursday as it flew from Moscow to New Delhi. According to flight tracking service Flight Radar 24, “one of the Russian government aircraft en route to India” was the most tracked flight.
Our most tracked flight now: one of the Russian government aircraft en route to India. Russian President Putin and Indian PM Modi are scheduled to meet over two days in Delhi. https://t.co/Q5GikRN1Vd pic.twitter.com/DcbA9wFYrF
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 4, 2025
However, this came with its share of mystery. According to reports, there was an ongoing game of switching on and off of the transponders between the two identical Russian aircraft that no one could determine which of the two was the real aircraft.
While aviation watchers searched for Putin's ‘Flying Kremlin’, two identical Russian planes were heading to India. At times, one aircraft's transponder would turn on, displaying exact coordinates, while the other would turn off. Then they would switch turns. Sometimes, both planes would be visible in the sky simultaneously.
The game of hide and seek, which lasted for about six-and-a-half hours, was so mysterious that thousands of people continued to track these planes. The mystery ended that evening when the real IL-96-300PU landed in Delhi.
However, this decoy aircraft strategy is not new, considering that Putin is one of the world's most protected leaders. His foreign travels have always been accompanied by multi-layered security protocols. This strategy aims to conceal the Russian President from the world's view and ensure that the public or adversaries cannot identify the plane carrying Russian President Vladimir Putin.
