![]() Unlike the earlier variants, the RC-135Bs had Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofans rather than the older J57s. 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. That distinction belongs to the RC-135S, which began operational reconnaissance missions in 1961, followed by the RC-135D in 1962. Although the RC-135A was the first designation in the RC-135 family, it was not the first RC-135 in service. They had no in-flight refueling system and they were to be used for photographic and surveying tasks. They used the same Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engines as the tanker, but carried cameras in a bay just aft of the nose wheel well where the forward fuel tank was normally located. Boeing allocated the variant the designation Boeing 739-700 but they were a modified variant of the KC-135A then in production. Originally nine were ordered but this was later reduced to four. The first RC-135 variant, the RC-135A, was ordered in 1962 by the United States Air Force to replace the Boeing RB-50 Superfortress. Many variants have been modified numerous times, resulting in a large variety of designations, configurations, and program names. Unlike the C-135 and KC-135 which are 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. ![]() ![]() No doubt in a few years, attendants will receive these indications directly on individual portable devices with more details.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 元 Technologies, and used by the United States Air Force and Royal Air Force to support theater and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.īased on the C-135 Stratolifter airframe, various types of RC-135s have been in service since 1961. ![]()
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