Boeing RC-135
RC-135 | |
---|---|
An RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft in flight. | |
Role | Reconnaissance aircraft |
Manufacturer | Boeing (airframe) L3 Technologies |
Introduction | 1961 |
Status | Active |
Primary users | United States Air Force Royal Air Force[1][2] |
Number built | 32 total airframes in all iterations |
Developed from | Boeing C-135 Stratolifter |
The Boeing RC-135 is a family of large
to support theater and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.Based on the
Design and development
The first RC-135 variant, the RC-135A, was ordered in 1962 by the United States Air Force to replace the
The next variant ordered was the RC-135B, to be used as an electronic intelligence aircraft to replace the
The RC-135Bs were the last of the new aircraft built. All further reconnaissance variants that followed were modified aircraft, either from earlier RC-135 variants or from tankers and transports.
In 2005, the RC-135 fleet completed a series of significant airframe, navigation and powerplant upgrades which include re-engining from the TF33 to the
Operational history
The current RC-135 fleet is the latest iteration of modifications to this pool of aircraft dating back to the early 1960s. Initially employed by
Originally, all RC-135s were operated by Strategic Air Command. Since 1992 they have been assigned to Air Combat Command. The RC-135 fleet is permanently based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska and operated by the 55th Wing, using forward operating locations worldwide.[5]
On 9 August 2010, the Rivet Joint program recognized its 20th anniversary of continuous service in Central Command, dating back to the beginning of Desert Shield. This represents the longest unbroken presence of any aircraft in the Air Force inventory. During this time it has flown over 8,000 combat missions[6] supporting air and ground forces of Operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
On 22 March 2010 the British
The RAF received the first RC-135W in September 2013, which was deployed from July 2014 to support coalition action against the
U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft were deployed numerous times to conduct reconnaissance missions around Poland and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad during the
Variants
KC-135A Reconnaissance Platforms
At least four KC-135A tankers were converted into makeshift reconnaissance platforms with no change of Mission Design Series (MDS) designation. KC-135As 55–3121, 55–3127, 59–1465, and 59-1514 were modified beginning in 1961. That year the Soviet Union announced its intention to detonate a 100 megaton
KC-135R Rivet Stand / Rivet Quick
Not to be confused with the CFM F108-powered KC-135R tanker, the KC-135R MDS was applied in 1963 to the three KC-135A reconnaissance aircraft under the Rivet Stand program. The three aircraft were 55–3121, 59–1465, and 59–1514; a fourth, serial no. 58–0126, was converted in 1969 to replace 1465 which had crashed in 1967. Externally the aircraft had varied configurations throughout their careers, but generally they were distinguished by five "towel bar" antennas along the spine of the upper fuselage and a radome below the forward fuselage.
The first three aircraft retained the standard tanker nose radome, while 58-0126 was fitted with the 'hog nose' radome commonly associated with an RC-135. A trapeze-like structure in place of the refueling boom which was used to trail an aerodynamic shape housing a specialized receiver array (colloquially known as a "blivet") on a wire was installed. This was reported to be used for "Briar Patch" and "Combat Lion" missions. There were four small optically flat windows on each side of the forward fuselage.
On some missions a small wing-like structure housing sensors was fitted to each side of the forward fuselage, with a diagonal brace below it. With the loss of 59–1465, KC-135A 58-0126 was modified to this standard under the Rivet Quick operational name. All four aircraft have now been lost or converted to KC-135R tanker configuration. They are among the few KC-135 tankers equipped with an aerial refueling receptacle above the cockpit, a remnant of their service as intelligence gathering platforms.
KC-135T Cobra Jaw
KC-135R 55-3121 was modified in 1969 by Lockheed Air Services to the unique KC-135T configuration under the Cobra Jaw program name. Externally distinguished by the 'hog nose' radome, the aircraft also featured spinning "fang" receiver antennas below the nose radome, a large blade antenna above the forward fuselage, a single 'towel bar' antenna on the spine, teardrop antennas forward of the horizontal stabilizers on each side, and the trapeze-like structure in place of the refueling boom. The aircraft briefly carried nose art consisting of the Ford Cobra Jet cartoon cobra. It was later modified into an RC-135T Rivet Dandy.
RC-135A
Four RC-135As (63-8058 through 8061) were photo mapping platforms used briefly by the Air Photographic & Charting Service, based at
RC-135B
The as-delivered version of the RC-135. The RC-135B was never used operationally, as it had no mission equipment installed by Boeing. The entire RC-135B production run of ten aircraft was delivered directly to
RC-135C Big Team
Modified and re-designated RC-135B aircraft used for strategic reconnaissance duties, equipped with the AN/ASD-1 electronic intelligence (
RC-135D Office Boy / Rivet Brass
The RC-135Ds, originally designated KC-135A-II, were the first reconnaissance configured C-135s given the "R" MDS designation, although they were not the first reconnaissance-tasked members of the C-135 family. They were delivered to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska in 1962 as part of the Office Boy Project. Serial numbers were 60–0356, 60–0357, and 60–0362. The aircraft began operational missions in 1963. These three aircraft were ordered as KC-135A tankers, but delivered without refueling booms, and known as "falsie C-135As" pending the delivery of the first actual C-135A cargo aircraft in 1961.[17]
The primary Rivet Brass mission flew along the northern border of the Soviet Union, often as a shuttle mission between Eielson and RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, and later RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, UK. The RC-135D was also used in Southeast Asia during periods when the RC-135M (see below) was unavailable. In the late 1970s, with the expansion of the RC-135 fleet powered by TF33 turbofan engines, the RC-135Ds were converted into tankers, and remain in service as receiver-capable KC-135Rs.[17]
RC-135E Lisa Ann / Rivet Amber
Originally designated C-135B-II, project name Lisa Ann, the RC-135E Rivet Amber was a one-of-a-kind aircraft equipped with a large 7 MW
The system could track an object the size of a soccer ball from a distance of 300 miles (480 km), and its mission was to monitor Soviet ballistic missile testing in the reentry phase. The power requirement for the phased array radar was enormous, necessitating an additional power supply. This took the form of a podded Lycoming T55-L5 turboshaft engine in a pod under the left inboard wing section, driving a 350 kVA generator dedicated to powering mission equipment.[19]
On the opposite wing in the same location was a podded heat exchanger to permit cooling of the massive electronic components on board the aircraft. This configuration has led to the mistaken impression that the aircraft had six engines. On 5 June 1969, Rivet Amber was lost at sea on a ferry flight from Shemya to Eielson AFB for maintenance. No trace of the aircraft or its crew was ever found.[20]
RC-135M Rivet Card
The RC-135M was an interim type with more limited ELINT capability than the RC-135C but with extensive additional COMINT capability. They were converted from
RC-135S Nancy Rae / Wanda Belle / Rivet Ball
Rivet Ball was the predecessor program to Cobra Ball and was initiated with a single RC-135S (serial 59–1491, formerly a JKC-135A) on 31 December 1961. The aircraft first operated under the Nancy Rae project as an asset of Air Force Systems Command and later as an RC-135S reconnaissance platform with Strategic Air Command under project Wanda Belle. The name Rivet Ball was assigned in January 1967. The aircraft operated from Shemya AFB, Alaska. Along with most other RC-135 variants, the RC-135S had an elongated nose radome housing an S band receiving antenna.[18][23]
The aircraft had ten large optically flat quartz windows for tracking cameras on the right side of the fuselage. Unlike any other RC-135S, Rivet Ball also had a plexiglass dome mounted top-center on its fuselage for the Manual Tracker position. It obtained the first photographic documentation of Soviet
RC-135S Cobra Ball
The RC-135S Cobra Ball is a
There are three aircraft in service, assigned to the
RC-135T Rivet Dandy
KC-135T 55-3121 was modified to RC-135T Rivet Dandy configuration in 1971. It was used to supplement the RC-135C/D/M fleet, then in short supply due to ongoing upgrades requiring airframes to be out of service. It operated under the Burning Candy operational order. In 1973 the aircraft's SIGINT gear was removed and transferred to KC-135R 58–0126, resulting in 55-3121 assuming the role of trainer, a role which it fulfilled for the remainder of its operational existence. Externally the aircraft retained the 'hog nose' radome and some other external modifications, but the aerial refueling boom and trapeze below the tail were removed, and it had no operational reconnaissance role.[26]
In this configuration, it operated variously with the 376th Strategic Wing at
RC-135U Combat Sent
The RC-135U Combat Sent is designed to collect technical intelligence on adversary radar emitter systems. Combat Sent data is collected to develop new or upgraded
Distinctly identified by the antenna arrays on the fuselage chin, tailcone, and wing tips, three RC-135C aircraft were converted to RC-135U (63-9792, 64–14847, & 64–14849) in the early 1970s. 63-9792 was later converted into a Rivet Joint in 1978, and all aircraft remain in service based at
RC-135V/W Rivet Joint
The RC-135V/W is the USAF's standard airborne
All RC-135s are assigned to Air Combat Command. The RC-135 is permanently based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and operated by the 55th Wing, using various forward deployment locations worldwide.[29]
Under the "BIG SAFARI" program name, RC-135Vs were upgraded from the RC-135C "Big Team" configuration. RC-135Ws were originally delivered as C-135B transports, and most were modified from RC-135Ms. This is the only difference (If the aircraft are still equipped with the TF-33, then one of them has thrust reversers and the other one not, that's why they used V and W) between the V and W variants; both carry the same mission equipment. For many years, the RC-135V/W could be identified by the four large disc-capped Multiple Communications Emitter Location System (MUCELS) antennas forward, four somewhat smaller blade antennae aft and myriad of smaller underside antennas. Baseline 8 Rivet Joints (in the 2000s) introduced the first major change to the external RC-135V/W configuration replacing the MUCELS antennas with plain blade antennas. The configuration of smaller underside antennas was also changed significantly.
RC-135W Rivet Joint (Project Airseeker)
The United Kingdom bought three KC-135R aircraft for conversion to RC-135W Rivet Joint standard[1] under the Airseeker project.[30] Acquisition of the three aircraft was budgeted at £634m, with entry into service in October 2014.[31] The aircraft formed No. 51 Squadron RAF, based at RAF Waddington along with the RAF's other ISTAR assets. They are expected to remain in service until 2045.
Previously, the Royal Air Force had gathered signals intelligence with three
Helix became Project Airseeker, under which three KC-135R airframes were converted to RC-135W standard by
51 Sqn personnel began training at Offutt in January 2011 for conversion to the RC-135.
RC-135X Cobra Eye
The sole RC-135X Cobra Eye was converted during the mid-to-late-1980s from a C-135B Telemetry/Range Instrumented Aircraft, serial number 62–4128, with the mission of tracking ICBM reentry vehicles.[38][39] In 1993, it was converted into an additional RC-135S Cobra Ball.[21][40]
TC-135
Three aircraft are in service for crew training, and lack fully functional mission equipment. One TC-135S (62–4133) provides training capability for the Cobra Ball mission, and is distinguishable from combat-ready aircraft by the lack of cheeks on the forward fuselage. It was converted from an EC-135B in 1985 following the crash of the former RC-135T 55–3121, which had been used as a trainer up to that point. In addition, two TC-135Ws (62-4127 and 4129) serve as training aircraft primarily for the Rivet Joint mission, but can also provide some training capability for RC-135U Combat Sent crews. They carry considerably fewer antennas than the fully equipped aircraft, but are otherwise similar in appearance to other Rivet Joint aircraft.
Operators
United States Air Force – Air Combat Command
- Offutt AFB, Nebraska
- 38th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 45th Reconnaissance Squadron
- 82d Reconnaissance Squadron (Kadena Air Base, Japan)
- 95th Reconnaissance Squadron (RAF Mildenhall, England)
- 338th Combat Training Squadron
- 343d Reconnaissance Squadron
- No. 1 Group – RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, England
- No. 51 Squadron[42]
- No. 54 Squadron (Operational Conversion Unit)[43]
- No. 56 Squadron (Test and Evaluation)[44]
Accidents and incidents
- On 17 July 1967, a KC-135R Rivet Stand, 59-1465, crashed on takeoff from Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The aircraft commander over-rotated the aircraft, causing it to stall and crash just under a mile from the end of the runway on the edge of Papillion Creek. One of the five crew members aboard was killed.[45]
- On 13 January 1969, USAF RC-135S, 59-1491, called "Rivet Ball", was returning from an operational reconnaissance mission, when it landed at Shemya Air Force Base, Alaska in a snowstorm. The aircraft slid off the ice-covered runway and plunged into a 40-foot ravine. Later "Ball" aircraft were equipped with thrust-reversers on their TF-33 turbofan engines, but this aircraft had J-57 turbojet engines without reverse thrust capability. All eighteen crew members successfully evacuated the aircraft. The aircraft was written off as damaged beyond repair, but many components specific to the reconnaissance mission were salvaged for later use.[46]
- On 5 June 1969, USAF RC-135E, 62-4137, called "Rivet Amber", departed Shemya Air Force Base, Alaska for a ferry flight to Eielson Air Force Base. Although the purpose of this ferry flight is sometimes described as routine maintenance, in fact the aircraft had encountered severe turbulence on its previous operational mission and had been cleared for a one-time flight to be checked for possible structural damage at the main operating base. "Rivet Amber" was the heaviest 135 series aircraft ever built and was a highly sophisticated aircraft with a radar that weighed over 35,000 pounds and under each wing were specialized pods housing a heat-exchanger (right wing) and an additional electrical generator (left wing). During the flight all contact with 62-4137 was lost and the wreckage of the aircraft was never found.[20]
- On 15 March 1981, USAF RC-135S, 61-2664, called "Cobra Ball", crashed on final approach in bad weather to Shemya Air Force Base, Alaska on a flight from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The aircraft commander never established a proper glide path or descent rate on final and impacted the ground short of the runway. Of the twenty-four occupants of the aircraft, six were killed.[47]
- On 25 February 1985, USAF RC-135T, 55-3121, operating out of Eielson AFB, Alaska, was flying practice approaches in very poor weather at the
- On 3 March 2003, two MiG-23 of North Korean KPAAF intercepted RC-135S in Sea of Japan with MiG-29 came within 50 feet of the aircraft with another locked onto it with fire control radar in preparation to conduct a shoot down, RC-135S changed course towards Japan and landed in Kadena airbase.[48]
- On 30 April 2015, USAF RC-135V, 64-14848, operating out of Offutt AFB, NE aborted takeoff on a routine training mission when crewmembers observed smoke and flames coming from the aft galley. The aircraft commander aborted the takeoff at about 50 KIAS and the cockpit crew, electronic warfare officers, intelligence operators and in-flight maintenance technicians—27 individuals in all—evacuated the aircraft. Although there were no injuries, except for minor smoke inhalation, the ensuing fire damaged aircraft control and mission related systems. Total repair cost was estimated at $62.4 million US. The cause of the mishap was failure by L3 Communications depot maintenance personnel to tighten a retaining nut connecting a metal oxygen tube to a junction fitting above the galley. This resulted in an oxygen leak and caused an oxygen-rich environment allowing adjacent materials to ignite. The resulting fire melted the retaining nut and caused the tubing to become detached, feeding even more oxygen to the fire, which increased in size and caused severe damage to the airframe, galley and mission equipment aboard the aircraft. The oxygen line system work, which was listed as the cause of this 2015 mishap, was carried out in August 2013.[49]
- On 29 September 2022, an RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint plane interacted with two Russian SU-27s, one of which released a missile in the vicinity of the RAF Rivet Joint beyond visual range. Russia subsequently claimed this was due to a technical malfunction, and acknowledged the incident took place over the Black Sea in international waters. The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, declared "we are incredibly lucky that the episode did not become worse".[50] Later due to a set of classified data leaks, more information was released regarding the incident. According to two U.S. defense officials, the Russian pilot had misinterpreted what a radar operator on the ground was saying to him and thought he had permission to fire. The pilot, who had locked on the British aircraft, fired, but the missile did not launch properly.[51]
Specifications (RC-135)
Data from USAF RC-135 Data Sheet [52][unreliable source?]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 pilots, 2 navigator (flight crew)
- Capacity: 21–27 depending on mission requirements, minimum consisting of 4 Electronic Warfare Officers (Ravens), 14 Intelligence Operators and 4 Airborne Systems Engineers (mission crew)
- Length: 136 ft 3 in (41.53 m)
- Wingspan: 130 ft 10 in (39.88 m)
- Height: 41 ft 8 in (12.70 m)
- Wing area: 2,433 sq ft (226.0 m2)
- Airfoil: root: BAC 310/311/312; tip: BAC 313[53]
- Empty weight: 124,000 lb (56,245 kg)
- Gross weight: 297,000 lb (134,717 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 322,500 lb (146,284 kg)
- Powerplant: 4 × CFM International F-108-CF-201turbofan engines, 22,000 lbf (98 kN) thrust each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 504 kn (580 mph, 933 km/h)
- Range: 2,998 nmi (3,450 mi, 5,552 km)
- Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
- Rate of climb: 4,900 ft/min (25 m/s)
See also
Related development
- C-135 Stratolifter
- KC-135 Stratotanker
- Boeing EC-135
- WC-135 Constant Phoenix
Related lists
- List of active United States military aircraft
- List of United States Air Force reconnaissance aircraft
References
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- Bibliography
- Cobra Ball – Federation of American Scientists
- RC-135S Cobra Ball Air Force's optical intelligence collection platform Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine – Federation of American Scientists
External links
- Rivet Joint page on FAS.org
- The RB-47 & RC-135 in Vietnam By Bruce Bailey
- "A Tale of Two Airplanes" by Kingdon R. "King" Hawes, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.)
- RC-135U Combat Sent Presentation, Capt Logan Schrank, September 2017
- "RC-135 Rivet Joint" on YouTube