history . variants . systems . operators . missions £5.99 the world ’s greatest 1 1 3 5tanker ... and more ... By kc -135 stratotanker rc-135 rivet joint Over the years, AIR International has established an unrivalled reputation for authoritative reporting across the full spectrum of aviation subjects. With correspondents and top aviation writers from around the world, AIR International brings you the best in modern military and commercial aviation. AIR International features: Latest News Dedicated news reports and factual insider information plus a section of ‘news in pictures’ and military frontline reports. Military Coverage Including worldwide air exercise reports and heightened exposure of UAVs. Exclusive Interviews Providing answers from the people at the forefront of modern aviation. Commercial Coverage Features and profi les on airlines from around the world. Available Monthly from and other leading newsagents Image: Lockheed Martin ALSO AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORMAT: DOWNLOAD NOW AVAILABLE FROM: FREE APP PC, Mac & with sample issue Windows 8 IN APP ISSUES £3.99 iTunes AIR INTERNATIONAL SEARCH 263/13 Available on PC, Mac, Blackberry, Windows 8 and kindle fire from Requirements for app: registered iTunes account on Apple iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4S, 5, iPod Touch or iPad 1, 2 or 3. Internet connection required for initial download. Published by Key Publishing Ltd. The entire contents of these titles are © copyright 2014. All rights reserved. App prices subject to change. FOR LATEST SUBSCRIPTION DEALS VISIT: www.airinternational.com 665 ALW JP Fleets.indd 2 20/08/2014 15:31 introduction 1 3 5 lmost 36 years ago to the day, I watched a KC- 29, 1958 and serves with the Kansas Air National 135A Stratotanker take off – and it was a fi rst Guard’s 190th Air Refueling Wing. The youngest, a for me. The aircraft was from the 410th Bomb RC-135U Combat Sent 64-14849, made its maiden Wing based at K I Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan, fl ight on January 27, 1965, and serves as a special and on temporary duty with the united states air forc es in europe 1 3 5 mission aircraft with Air Combat European Tanker Task Force at square Command’s 55th Wing at Offutt RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, England. Air Force Base, Nebraska. I had no idea why the jet gushed The fact to highlight here is out so much oily smoke as it lifted that two aircraft, one from off from runway 29 but it all added 1958 and one from 1965, he Boeing KC-135 has had a long association with RAF Mildenhall. The initial unit was Detachment 1, 98th Strategic Wing (SW), which relocated from RAF Upper Heyford in January 1970 – its headquarters being located at Torrejon Air Base, Spain. The detachment’s role was primarily to support rotational RC-135 operations in Europe. t The 98th SW inactivated when replaced by the 306th SW on August 15, 1976, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany – although no aircraft were located there. Instead, the KC-135s were based at Mildenhall, which increased complement to an unforgettable experience. signi cantly when the rotation to Torrejon ceased. are still serving on frontline The 306th SW relocated to Mildenhall on July 1, 1978, thereby returning a complete, ‘numbered’ Strategic Air Command (SAC) organisation to the Suffolk base. The change brought responsibility for organising the European Tanker Task Force to the UK and at the same time consolidated air refuelling at one location. Around 16 KC-135s rotated to Mildenhall on temporary duty from the United States at any one time, including aircraft from SAC units, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. Despite being dedicated to the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), control was retained by SAC. While this operational organisation was adequate, there was a Matthew Clements Two other things fascinated requirement for a dedicated USAFE air refuelling squadron with aircraft operations 55 and 48 years wholly committed to the requirements of the European theatre. To satisfy the need, the 100th Air Refueling Wing was activated at Mildenhall on February 1, 1992 with 15 KC-135Rs assigned to the 351st Air Refueling Squadron. The unit operates 24 hours a day, every me about the aircraft: the blue the world ’s greatest tanker and more 29 respectively after their fi rst Strategic Air Command ‘milky fl ights: quite amazing! I way’ band on its fuselage, and its silver paint scheme. wonder how many military aircraft built in the last Much has changed since then. The KC-135A no decade will be serving for that long? longer exists, and nor does Strategic Air Command, There are of course other types that conduct the the 410th Bomb Wing and K I Sawyer Air Force air refuelling mission but none of them can touch Base: once known as the the impressive records held by air combat command 1 3 5 fourth largest city in the Upper the KC-135: number of aircraft Michigan peninsula. built, the number of versions or But much has not changed. the amount of frontline combat The US Air Force’s need for Jim Haseltine service, etc. And those facts Initially the RC-135s were operated in natural metal nish, with full and their role has been described as ‘scienti c and technical’, a simplistic colour national insignia displayed on the rear fuselage and beneath the way of saying their task is to identify new and revised known emitters. wings, and ‘U.S. Air Force’ applied to the forward fuselage. However, Combat Sent can call on a vast computerised library of weapons the US decided to adopt a more high-pro le approach, as losses to systems and communications centres and the frequencies they use enemy action during the 1950s were aircraft deemed to be little different to conduct their operations. Electronic warfare operators (EWOs) the white from all other US military aircraft. Now they are similarly marked monitor automated sensors that scan a bewildering array of frequencies externally, nished with a gloss mid-grey lower fuselage and a white to determine every facet of a potential enemy’s military posture and upper surface and tail. The n displays the United States ag in full governmental composition. Primarily these are foreign military airborne, tankers, the role and missions colour as well as the ‘OF’ tail code signifying Offutt Air Force Base. land and seaborne radar signals. alone surely place the 135 as ‘U.S. Air Force’ is applied in large lettering along the fuselage above Initially the budget for their operations was provided by the Central the wing to ensure that, when operating over international waters close Intelligence Agency, but in 1975 the National Security Agency assumed to nations under surveillance, there is no uncertainty that these are responsibility and reduced the number of aircraft to two: RC-135 serial American aircraft. number 63-9792 was converted to Rivet Joint con guration. Initially the RC-135s were part of Strategic Air Command and The two surviving Combat Sent aircraft have changed slightly over jets of occasionally carried its star-spangled blue ‘milky way’ banner around the subsequent 40 years. The heart of the signals acquisition suite is the fuselage, along with wing and command emblems. Following the the Precision Power Measurement System (PPMS) composed of black demise of SAC, and reassignment to Air Combat Command (ACC) on antennas installed on the nose, extreme aft fuselage and wing tips. A June 1, 1992, the ACC emblem is presented on the starboard side of rectangular housing beneath the radome contains two circular sensors, the nose with the unit badge on the port. with similar structures mounted on the wing tips and on an extension to fl own around the clock every Each version has a distinctive con guration of antennas and sensors the rear fuselage. Collectively they provide 360° coverage of emitters the world’s greatest tanker... tailored to speci c tasks. Likewise all three mission types are allocated under interrogation. a bizarre-sounding name, which has no relationship whatsoever to the Beneath the forward fuselage was a circular radome housing a large offutt task. The names are allocated for a variety of reasons, primarily for rotating antenna which has recently been replaced with a single blade familiarity between users and for budgetary purposes. aerial, similar to the Multiple Position COMINT Emitter Location System The aircraft are a component of the overall ‘Big Safari’ programme, (MUCELS) arrangement installed on Rivet Joints. Mounted on both he small eet of RC-135s are among the most highly prized Rudimentary RC-135s rst entered service in 1961, although they established in 1951 to oversee small numbers of highly specialised types sides of the forward fuselage are Automatic Electronic Emitter Location intelligence gathering assets in the US military. Twenty- were not allocated that designation, and looked nothing like the versions that require logistics and nancial support away from the mainstream. System (AEELS) ‘cheeks’. The various antennas installed in the AEELS two are operational and all are stationed at Offutt Air Force ying today. Currently the 22 RC-135s in service are composed of four Users can readily identify the aircraft type and mission through the have changed shape periodically during the past 40-plus years as Base, Nebraska, with the 55th Wing – although rarely are different designations performing three diverse missions, and there are programme name rather than the aircraft designation, which can be newer and re ned sensors have been devised. there more than half this number in residence at any given three trainers dedicated to aircrew conversion and pro ciency. changed periodically. Currently the names are Combat Sent (RC-135U), Combat Sent has been likened to a vacuum cleaner in being capable day of the year, and the military time.