{"id":11943,"date":"2022-07-19T17:40:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T17:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2022\/07\/19\/another-nuke-sniffing-plane-joins-offutt-fleet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:27:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:27:02","slug":"another-nuke-sniffing-plane-joins-offutt-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/2022\/07\/19\/another-nuke-sniffing-plane-joins-offutt-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"Another nuke-sniffing plane joins Offutt fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Crew members from Offutt Air Force Base\u2019s 55th Wing in Nebraska feasted their eyes last week on something they hardly ever get to see: a new plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, sort of new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WC-135R \u201cnuke-sniffer\u201d jet that landed July 11 at the Lincoln Airport \u2014 the 55th\u2019s temporary operating base while Offutt\u2019s runway is replaced \u2014 was actually built in 1964.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/04\/25\/air-force-to-start-transforming-tankers-into-wc-135-nuke-sniffers-this-year\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3518804.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force to start transforming tankers into WC-135 \u2018nuke sniffers\u2019 in FY19<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">What&#039;s better than two aircraft capable of identifying nuclear activity? Having three of them.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former aerial New Hampshire Air National Guard refueling tanker has been refitted with new equipment capable of detecting atmospheric radiation, and updated with modern \u201cglass cockpit\u201d controls. And it has the same newer, quieter turbofan engines as the rest of Offutt\u2019s RC-135 reconnaissance fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have a jet here that the Air Force hasn\u2019t seen before,\u201d Lt. Col. Chris Crouch, commander of the Offutt-based 45th Reconnaissance Squadron, said in a statement. \u201cWe will have a lot more range to get to op areas that we were never able to reach before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is the first of three refurbished National Guard KC-135s slated for delivery to the 55th Wing during the next year. All will fly the Constant Phoenix mission, collecting and analyzing air samples in support of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mission dates to the Cold War era. Its importance has grown as <a href=\"https:\/\/omaha.com\/news\/state-and-regional\/air-force-recon-crews-from-offutt-keeping-eyes-and-ears-on-ukraine-action\/article_2c76f5b6-94d3-11ec-9dff-03c4e4a78a1b.html\">tensions with Russia rise<\/a> and North Korea ramps up its missile-testing program with a series of launches this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe world needs this capability to sense nuclear tests,\u201d Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a former 55th Wing commander, told The World-Herald in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/04\/21\/patrick-afbs-secret-lab-watches-for-nuclear-explosions-worldwide\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AFTAC_Patrick-lab.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Patrick AFB\u2019s secret lab watches for nuclear explosions worldwide<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Air Force Technical Applications Center is tasked with monitoring nuclear treaty compliance and any &quot;nuclear surprises&quot; from rogue nations or terrorists.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the conversion, the long refueling booms are removed from the tankers and the planes\u2019 avionics and flight systems are upgraded to match the 55th Wing\u2019s other aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They also are equipped with small sensing pods on each side of the fuselage, over the wing. Filters inside the pods capture tiny particles from a nuclear blast, giving analysts important information about the composition of the bomb or radiation source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The work is being done in Greenville, Texas, by the 645th Aeronautical Systems Group, long known by its nickname, \u201cBig Safari.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The three new planes are replacing two decrepit WC-135s that have undergone few upgrades since Boeing built them in 1961 and 1962 and in recent years were notorious \u201changar queens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/05\/06\/chasing-pavement-offutts-massive-runway-renovation-enters-home-stretch\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Rob-Hufford-55th-Civil-Engineer-Squadron_web.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Chasing pavement: Offutt\u2019s massive runway renovation enters home stretch<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The 18-month overhaul is expected to finish in September or October<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the planes, a WC-135C with the tail number 62-3582, was retired in November 2020 during a tongue-in-cheek retirement ceremony before it was flown to a desert scrapyard in Arizona. Crew members described infuriating breakdowns and harrowing flights aboard an aircraft that the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron\u2019s chaplain <a href=\"https:\/\/omaha.com\/news\/local\/55th-wing-retires-cranky-plane-dubbed-lucifers-chariot-in-offutt-ceremony\/article_3d8f12b6-19ac-5d0e-af78-03544b91f3c7.html\">nicknamed \u201cLucifer\u2019s Chariot.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second, a WC-135W with the tail number 61-2667, will continue flying for a few more months. But it has one of the worst maintenance records in the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fiscal year 2021, the plane had a \u201cmission-capable\u201d rate of 48%, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/02\/14\/us-air-force-fleets-mission-capable-rates-are-stagnating-heres-the-plan-to-change-that\/#:~:text=Mission-capable\">Air Force data published<\/a> by the Air Force Times, meaning it was capable of carrying out scheduled missions less than half the time. And it had a \u201cbreak\u201d rate of 47%, meaning it returned from almost half of its missions needing significant repairs. Early last year, it was sidelined in Australia for nearly two months because of hydraulic problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the urging of Bacon and Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, Congress approved $218 million in 2019 and 2020 to refurbish the three planes for the Constant Phoenix mission. The decision also followed a World-Herald investigative series, <a href=\"https:\/\/omaha.com\/news\/in-flight-emergency-an-investigation-into-flight-safety-at-offutts-55th-wing\/collection_5b41229f-8bdd-5af8-a524-dcdbda65c09e.html\">called \u201cIn-Flight Emergency,\u201d<\/a> in 2018 that spotlighted maintenance problems with the 55th Wing\u2019s fleet of C-135 variant jets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBefore we had to have a special cadre of very experienced aircrew who were able to fly with those old, small motors and deal with some of the issues they had,\u201d Crouch said in the 55th Wing release. \u201cNow we have a nice, updated, reliable jet that we can have any pilot, co-pilot and navigator fly on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/05\/16\/truck-exhaust-it-woes-and-piles-of-rubble-offutt-faces-uphill-battle-to-rebuild\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1000w_q75-5-2.jpg-2.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Truck exhaust, IT woes and piles of rubble: Offutt faces uphill battle to rebuild<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Rebuilding Offutt is expected to take about 10 years and more than $1 billion.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The delivery of new planes, or even refurbished ones, is a rare event for the 55th Wing. The last refurbished planes arrived in the mid-1990s, said Robert Hopkins III, a former RC-135 pilot who is now a Dallas-based historian of Air Force reconnaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The last new planes were the RC-135 variants delivered in 1967 for several missions, including Rivet Joint and Cobra Ball. Many of those are still flying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a monumental moment for us,\u201d said Col. Kristen Thompson, the 55th Wing\u2019s commander, in the press release. She called the delivery of the WC-135s \u201ca game changer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next WC-135R is scheduled to arrive in the winter, according to the press release, and the third jet is expected in summer 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Offutt will receive three refurbished tankers-turned-nuclear reconnaissance planes in the next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":34865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,29],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2468],"class_list":["post-11943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battlefield-tech","category-home"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6AYFZZK76NAZ5HG3KG4AHLQSHY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/07\/19\/another-nuke-sniffing-plane-joins-offutt-fleet\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Another nuke-sniffing plane joins Offutt fleet - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Offutt will receive three refurbished tankers-turned-nuclear reconnaissance planes in the next year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Another nuke-sniffing plane joins Offutt fleet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Offutt will receive three refurbished tankers-turned-nuclear reconnaissance planes in the next year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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