The Boeing RC-135 is a family of large reconnaissance aircraft built by Boeing and modified by a number of companies, including General Dynamics, Lockheed, LTV, E-Systems, and L3Harris Technologies, and used by the United States Air Force and Royal Air Force to produce theater and national level intelligence with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities. Based on the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter airframe, various types of RC-135s have been in service since 1961. Unlike the KC-135, which is recognized by Boeing as the Model 717, most of the current RC-135 fleet, with the exception of the RAF's RC-135Ws, is internally designated as the Model 739 by the company. Many variants have been modified numerous times, resulting in a large variety of designations, configurations, and program names.
Design and development In 1962, the first RC-135 variant, the RC-135A, was ordered by the United States Air Force to replace the Boeing RB-50 Superfortress. Originally nine were ordered but this was later reduced to four. Boeing allocated the variant the designation Boeing 739-700 but they were a modified variant of the KC-135A then in production. They used the same Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engines as the tanker and carried cameras in a bay just aft of the nose wheel well where the forward fuel tank was normally located. They had no in-flight refueling system and they were used for photographic and surveying tasks. Although the RC-135A was the first designation in the RC-135 family, it was not the first RC-135 in service. That distinction belongs to the RC-135S, which began operational reconnaissance missions in 1961, followed by the RC-135D in 1962. The next variant ordered was the RC-135B, to be used as an electronic intelligence aircraft to replace the Boeing RB-47H Stratojet, a SIGINT platform. Unlike the earlier variants, the RC-135Bs had Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofans rather than the older J57s. These ten aircraft were delivered directly to Martin Aircraft beginning in 1965 for installation of their operational electronics suite. By 1967, they emerged as RC-135Cs and all entered service that year. The refueling boom was not fitted and the boom operator station was used as a camera bay for a KA-59 camera. Externally, the aircraft were distinguished by the large cheek antenna fairings on the forward fuselage. 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 CFM International CFM-56 (F108) engines used on the KC-135R and T Stratotanker, and an upgrade of the flight deck instrumentation and navigation systems to the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) standard. The AMP standard includes conversion from analog readouts to a digital glass cockpit configuration.
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 Strategic Air Command for reconnaissance, the RC-135 fleet has participated in every armed conflict involving U.S. forces during its tenure. RC-135s supported operations in Vietnam War, the Mediterranean for Operation El Dorado Canyon, Grenada for Operation Urgent Fury, Panama for Operation Just Cause, the Balkans for Operations Deliberate Force and Allied Force, and Southwest Asia for Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. RC-135s have maintained a constant presence in Southwest Asia since the early 1990s. They were stalwarts of Cold War operations, with missions flown around the periphery of the USSR and its client states in Europe and around the world. 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. 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 supporting air and ground forces of Operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In March 2010 the British Ministry of Defence announced that it reached an agreement with the US Government to purchase three RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft to replace the Nimrod R1, which was retired in June 2011. The aircraft, to be styled as 'Airseeker', were scheduled to be delivered by 2017 at a total cost of around £650 million, including provision of ground infrastructure, training of personnel and ground supporting systems. In 2013, the UK government confirmed that crews from the RAF's 51 Squadron had been training and operating alongside their USAF colleagues since 2011, having achieved in excess of 32,000 flying hours and 1,800 sorties as part of the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB. The RAF received the first RC-135W in September 2013, which was deployed from July 2014 to support coalition action against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in Iraq. The second aircraft was delivered seven months ahead of schedule in September 2015, with over sixty improvements incorporated ranging from upgrades to the aircraft's mission systems to engine improvements providing increased fuel efficiency and durability. In due course, the first aircraft will receive the same upgrades. The aircraft can only be air-to-air refuelled in service by USAF tankers based in Europe, since the UK does not operate boom-equipped refueling aircraft, and has no plans to adapt drogue-equipped aircraft. 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 exclave of Kaliningrad during the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Stated objectives include broadcasting a clear signal that the US, and thus NATO, is aware of Russian movements in the area of operations.
Variants
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