nandana
(Nandana)
#1
Articles
Trips
Shows
News
Movements
Scramble 469
coming from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates
where they supported Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). At
this stage, it seems that their are no USAF fifth-generation
fighters deployed in the Middle East any more. The following
four TY coded F-22As were noted at Morón: 05-4084, 05-4086,
05-4098 and 05-4106.
Related to the above Raptor news comes the fact that the
USAF stated on 26 April 2018, during an Aircraft Airworthi-
ness and Sustainment Conference, that F-22A with serial
number 02-4037 could return to service as soon as repairs to
the aircraft were completed in the foreseeable future. The
mentioned Raptor, still being treated at the Ogden Air Logis-
tics Complex at Hill AFB (UT), was damaged six years ago
when it skidded across a runway on its belly. The upcoming
return of the aircraft to operational status comes as a timely
addition, as another F-22A experienced a similar mishap on
13 April 2018 at NAS Fallon (NV). The USAF Raptor fleet cur-
rently stands at 137 combat-coded aircraft, 15 test aircraft,
and 31 training aircraft.
On 28 April 2018, the rare and sole Boeing NC-135W, with
serial number 61-2666 arrived as “SAME40” at RAF Mildenhall
in the United Kingdom. The NC-135W is a test-bed added to
the Air Force Material Command’s 645th Material Squadron/
Det.2, and is mainly used by L3 Technologies at Major Field
near Greenville (TX). The aforementioned 61-2666 has been
modified as a NC-135W to test systems used on RC-135V/ W
Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft.
Whenever visiting or transiting Europe in the past, the
NC-135W is mostly using the callsign “SAME40”. During this
time, the aircraft used Mildenhall as a temporary base. In the
past the aircraft was also deployed to Souda Air Base (Crete,
Greece). Conveniently, both Mildenhall and Souda, have nor-
mally one or two forward detached RC-135V/W Rivet Joint
aircraft from the 55th Wing based at Offutt AFB (NE).
Related to the above Boeing C-135 news comes the fact that
the USAF stated at the end of April, that it is set to begin over-
hauling and modifying the first of three KC-135R tankers into
WC-135 Constant Phoenix “Nuke Sniffers” during the end of
2019. At this moment, the USAF’s two WC-135s with serial
numbers 61-2667 and 62-3582 are among the most rare and
specialized aircraft in the USAF’s inventory. Outfitted with
highly classified equipment, it allows the crew to monitor
the atmosphere for signs of nuclear explosions or radioac-
tive activity.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. D. Goldfein told the Senate Armed
Services recently that the current WC-135s are getting old.
The General stated that they are wearing out. The two planes
date from the beginning of the 1960s and are reaching the
end of their lifespans. This latest move can be viewed as part
of a larger Defense Department focus on the modernization
and expansion of its nuclear capabilities, driven in part by
a new Nuclear Posture Review and growing concern about
Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and North Korean weapons tests.
Being also a part of Offut’s 55th Wing, the USAF rarely speaks
about the Constant Phoenix missions. The special aircraft
had gained more attention over the past year as tensions
with North Korea increased. The WC-135 deployed to Kadena
Air Base in Japan, during September 2107, where it was sent
to sniff out possible radioactive clouds after North Korea’s
nuclear tests that month.
At this moment, the USAF is requesting USD 208 million in
Fiscal Year 2019 for the Constant Phoenix upgrade, with an
additional USD 8 million planned in Fiscal Year 2020. The
USAF and L3 Technologies stated that it was more cost-effec-
tive to convert KC-135Rs into WC-135Rs than to modify the
two existing WC-135C/Ws
On 26 April 2018, Boeing announced that the KC-46A Pegasus
has completed all required flight tests for the Supplemental
Type Certificate (STC). The STC encompasses the military
systems installed on the B767-2C aircraft to make it a tanker.
Boeing will now submit the resulting data and reports to the
FAA and USAF for review in advance of the STC award.
As part of STC testing, the combined Boeing/USAF team had
to validate both the boom and drogue systems for aerial
refueling with several receiver aircraft. Besides that, they
demonstrated that the KC-46A can receive fuel from KC-135s,
KC-10s and KC-46s, as well during day and night time opera-
While visiting El Centro on 26 April 2018, Ton van Bakel encountered this bright looking T-44C Pegasus. BuNo 160978 belongs to Training Air
Wing 4, Training Squadron 31 “ Wise Owls” out of NAS Corpus Christi (TX).
