The "Breitling Emergency" watch contains a radio transmitter for civil aviation use which broadcasts on the 121.5 MHz distress frequency and serves as a backup for ELT-type airborne beacons. For military users, the "Emergency" has a miniaturized transmitter operating on the 243.0 MHz military aviation emergency frequency. Under normal conditions—flat terrain or calm seas—the signal can be picked up at a range of up to by search aircraft flying at . Since 1 February 2009, the Cospas-Sarsat Satellite System has not monitored the 121.5/243.0 MHz frequency; however, the signal transmitted by the "Emergency" was never strong enough to be picked up by satellite, and Breitling has announced that, as these frequencies will still be monitored by aviation, particularly during the localization phase of a rescue attempt, there are no plans to modify the signal's frequency.