Featured in RC-135BYTyler RogowaySep 22, 2021ShareRC-135 Now Flying With Donor KC-135 Engine Cover After Frightening Crosswind Landing MishapThe RC-135 Combat Sent is back in action over the Black Sea thanks to a donor engine nacelle cover from the local KC-135 unit in England. BYTyler RogowaySep 22, 2021ShareBYThomas NewdickSep 20, 2021ShareThe Air Force Blew It When It Decided Not To Give Its KC-135s Winglets 40 Years AgoThe KC-135 pioneered the winglet concept, but it never got them even after it was proven that they could save millions of gallons of gas every year. BYThomas NewdickSep 20, 2021ShareBYTyler RogowaySep 20, 2021ShareWatch This RC-135 Spy Plane Make A Frightening Crosswind Landing In England (Updated)The RC-135 Combat Sent slams down before its left wing dips dangerously low and the jet goes careening down the runway. BYTyler RogowaySep 20, 2021ShareBYThomas NewdickMar 22, 2021ShareDid An RC-135 Spy Plane Really Make An Unprecedented Run At Chinese Airspace Near Taiwan?Public flight tracking data showed the RC-135U spy plane very near Chinese airspace, but that info alone doesn’t tell the whole story. BYThomas NewdickMar 22, 2021ShareBYRobert HopkinsDec 16, 2020ShareChasing Soviet Missiles In The Cobra Ball From A Desolate Rock In The Aleutian IslandsDuring the Cold War, RC-135 Cobra Ball missile test tracking jet crews sat alert at one of the most remote and inhospitable places on earth. BYRobert HopkinsDec 16, 2020ShareBYRobert HopkinsNov 27, 2020ShareA Dozen Of The Most Unusual Variants Of The Ubiquitous KC-135 Family Of AircraftThe KC-135A Stratotanker has been reworked into many different configurations, some of which are bizarre, to accomplish a dizzying array of missions. BYRobert HopkinsNov 27, 2020ShareBYJoseph TrevithickJul 22, 2020ShareNavy Eyes ‘Hard-Kill’ Defenses For Transport, Tanker, and Possibly Unmanned Escort PlanesThe service is looking for a system that launches interceptors at incoming missiles and could end up on more than half a dozen types of aircraft. BYJoseph TrevithickJul 22, 2020ShareBYJoseph TrevithickMay 5, 2020ShareU.S. Mulls Pulling Spy Planes From Britain, Not Basing F-35s There Over Huawei 5G Plans: ReportThe United States says the Chinese firm’s work on the United Kingdom’s national 5G network is a major security risk. BYJoseph TrevithickMay 5, 2020ShareBYTyler RogowayMar 19, 2020ShareOffutt Air Force Base Is Evacuating All Flyable AircraftThe base, which is the home of U.S. Strategic Command, has been ravaged by tornados and floods in recent years. BYTyler RogowayMar 19, 2020ShareBYTyler Rogoway and Joseph TrevithickMar 1, 2020ShareGeneral Atomics Wants To Give Aerial Tankers Their Own Missile-Laden Loyal Wingmen DronesThe “Defender” concept is a potentially promising way to address the increasing vulnerability of Air Force tankers and other lumbering support planes. BYTyler Rogoway and Joseph TrevithickMar 1, 2020ShareBYJoseph TrevithickDec 17, 2019ShareAir Force General Says His Planes Are Keeping An Eye Out For North Korea’s “Christmas Gift”The general said that he expects a North Korean test of a “long-range ballistic missile,” such as an ICBM, in the coming weeks. BYJoseph TrevithickDec 17, 2019ShareBYTyler RogowayDec 6, 2019ShareRC-135 Rivet Joint Surveillance Jet Emerges With Puzzling New ModificationAn odd antenna installation has taken the place of a fairly recent satellite communications upgrade on one of the important signals intelligence jets. BYTyler RogowayDec 6, 2019ShareBYJoseph TrevithickAug 29, 2019ShareUSAF MC-130J Spec Ops Transport Flies Through Taiwan Strait With U.S. Spy Plane NearbyAnother unidentified aircraft also flew a mysterious orbit in the southern end of the Strait shortly after the MC-130J left the area. BYJoseph TrevithickAug 29, 2019ShareBYTyler RogowayJul 16, 2019ShareHome Of Strategic Command And Some Of The USAF’s Most Prized Aircraft Is Flooding (Updated)Offutt Air Force Base is succumbing to the massively swollen Missouri River and things could get worse before they get better. BYTyler RogowayJul 16, 2019ShareBYTyler RogowayApr 16, 2019ShareSR-71’s “R2-D2” Could Be The Key To Winning Future Fights In GPS Denied EnvironmentsOur ancestors did it and so did the SR-71 Blackbird, now this ancient form of navigation could be set for a major comeback. BYTyler RogowayApr 16, 2019ShareBYTyler RogowayApr 9, 2019ShareA U-2 Spy Plane Is Flying Peculiar Tracks High Over South Las Vegas (Updated)There appears to be some sort of large force exercise occurring over parts of Nevada and Utah. BYTyler RogowayApr 9, 2019Share12
BYTyler RogowaySep 22, 2021ShareRC-135 Now Flying With Donor KC-135 Engine Cover After Frightening Crosswind Landing MishapThe RC-135 Combat Sent is back in action over the Black Sea thanks to a donor engine nacelle cover from the local KC-135 unit in England. BYTyler RogowaySep 22, 2021Share
BYThomas NewdickSep 20, 2021ShareThe Air Force Blew It When It Decided Not To Give Its KC-135s Winglets 40 Years AgoThe KC-135 pioneered the winglet concept, but it never got them even after it was proven that they could save millions of gallons of gas every year. BYThomas NewdickSep 20, 2021Share
BYTyler RogowaySep 20, 2021ShareWatch This RC-135 Spy Plane Make A Frightening Crosswind Landing In England (Updated)The RC-135 Combat Sent slams down before its left wing dips dangerously low and the jet goes careening down the runway. BYTyler RogowaySep 20, 2021Share
BYThomas NewdickMar 22, 2021ShareDid An RC-135 Spy Plane Really Make An Unprecedented Run At Chinese Airspace Near Taiwan?Public flight tracking data showed the RC-135U spy plane very near Chinese airspace, but that info alone doesn’t tell the whole story. BYThomas NewdickMar 22, 2021Share
BYRobert HopkinsDec 16, 2020ShareChasing Soviet Missiles In The Cobra Ball From A Desolate Rock In The Aleutian IslandsDuring the Cold War, RC-135 Cobra Ball missile test tracking jet crews sat alert at one of the most remote and inhospitable places on earth. BYRobert HopkinsDec 16, 2020Share
BYRobert HopkinsNov 27, 2020ShareA Dozen Of The Most Unusual Variants Of The Ubiquitous KC-135 Family Of AircraftThe KC-135A Stratotanker has been reworked into many different configurations, some of which are bizarre, to accomplish a dizzying array of missions. BYRobert HopkinsNov 27, 2020Share
BYJoseph TrevithickJul 22, 2020ShareNavy Eyes ‘Hard-Kill’ Defenses For Transport, Tanker, and Possibly Unmanned Escort PlanesThe service is looking for a system that launches interceptors at incoming missiles and could end up on more than half a dozen types of aircraft. BYJoseph TrevithickJul 22, 2020Share
BYJoseph TrevithickMay 5, 2020ShareU.S. Mulls Pulling Spy Planes From Britain, Not Basing F-35s There Over Huawei 5G Plans: ReportThe United States says the Chinese firm’s work on the United Kingdom’s national 5G network is a major security risk. BYJoseph TrevithickMay 5, 2020Share
BYTyler RogowayMar 19, 2020ShareOffutt Air Force Base Is Evacuating All Flyable AircraftThe base, which is the home of U.S. Strategic Command, has been ravaged by tornados and floods in recent years. BYTyler RogowayMar 19, 2020Share
BYTyler Rogoway and Joseph TrevithickMar 1, 2020ShareGeneral Atomics Wants To Give Aerial Tankers Their Own Missile-Laden Loyal Wingmen DronesThe “Defender” concept is a potentially promising way to address the increasing vulnerability of Air Force tankers and other lumbering support planes. BYTyler Rogoway and Joseph TrevithickMar 1, 2020Share
BYJoseph TrevithickDec 17, 2019ShareAir Force General Says His Planes Are Keeping An Eye Out For North Korea’s “Christmas Gift”The general said that he expects a North Korean test of a “long-range ballistic missile,” such as an ICBM, in the coming weeks. BYJoseph TrevithickDec 17, 2019Share
BYTyler RogowayDec 6, 2019ShareRC-135 Rivet Joint Surveillance Jet Emerges With Puzzling New ModificationAn odd antenna installation has taken the place of a fairly recent satellite communications upgrade on one of the important signals intelligence jets. BYTyler RogowayDec 6, 2019Share
BYJoseph TrevithickAug 29, 2019ShareUSAF MC-130J Spec Ops Transport Flies Through Taiwan Strait With U.S. Spy Plane NearbyAnother unidentified aircraft also flew a mysterious orbit in the southern end of the Strait shortly after the MC-130J left the area. BYJoseph TrevithickAug 29, 2019Share
BYTyler RogowayJul 16, 2019ShareHome Of Strategic Command And Some Of The USAF’s Most Prized Aircraft Is Flooding (Updated)Offutt Air Force Base is succumbing to the massively swollen Missouri River and things could get worse before they get better. BYTyler RogowayJul 16, 2019Share
BYTyler RogowayApr 16, 2019ShareSR-71’s “R2-D2” Could Be The Key To Winning Future Fights In GPS Denied EnvironmentsOur ancestors did it and so did the SR-71 Blackbird, now this ancient form of navigation could be set for a major comeback. BYTyler RogowayApr 16, 2019Share
BYTyler RogowayApr 9, 2019ShareA U-2 Spy Plane Is Flying Peculiar Tracks High Over South Las Vegas (Updated)There appears to be some sort of large force exercise occurring over parts of Nevada and Utah. BYTyler RogowayApr 9, 2019Share
