AirForces Monthly – July 2018

these is speculative and has not been verified

from official (and other reliable) sources. In

addition to the Rivet Joints, RC-135U Combat

Sent aircraft from the 45th RS are known

to conduct reconnaissance missions from

Kadena AB, but these specialised electronic

intelligence (ELINT) missions are believed

to be associated with expanding the West’s

technical understanding of electronic orders-

of-battle in eastern Asia and the South

China Sea, and again it is unclear if any

are associated with the DPRK’s missile or

nuclear command and control systems.

Global deployments

RC-135S and WC-135 deployments are

typically three to four weeks in duration with

a replacement aircraft arriving prior to the

on-station jet returning to Offutt, although

the Constant Phoenix schedules are report-

edly based on sensitive intelligence related to

prospective nuclear tests. Due to downwind

radioactivity plume dispersal, the WC-135s

also operate from locations such as Eielson

AFB, Alaska, and RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk.

North Korean MiGs began attacking US

peripheral reconnaissance aircraft during the

Korean War and a North American RB-45C

Tornado and multiple Boeing RB-29As from

Strategic Air Command (SAC) were shot down.

Additional incidents continued, including the April

28, 1965 attack by MiG-17s on 55th Strategic

Reconnaissance Wing (SRW) RB-47H 53-4290,

which landed safely at Yokota AB but was so

badly damaged that it was written off in place.

The most widely known US loss took place on

April 15, 1969 when DPRK MiG-21s downed

US Navy Lockheed EC-121M from VQ-1 on a

Beggar Shadow intelligence-gathering mission.

Since 1969, North Korean intercepts have

been extremely rare due to the reluctance of

the DPRK to fly its MiGs any considerable

distance offshore, especially given reports of

Missile monitorsMissile monitors

The US Air Force takes the missile

threat emanating from North

Korea extremely seriously. Former

strategic reconnaissance pilot

Robert S Hopkins III examines the

potentially hazardous work of airborne

intelligence-gatherers in the region.

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #364 JULY 2018 // 53

Above: RC-135S 61-2662 during a deployment to Kadena AB. This aircraft was involved in monitoring

a series of North Korean ballistic missile tests between May and August last year, including the fi rst

successful launch of an ICBM, from Panghyon, on July 4. Author’s collection