The performance of this strategic electronic reconnaissance plane modified from Boeing 707 airframe is very advanced: the airframe length is 46. 6m, wingspan 44.4m, aircraft height 12.95m, which is equivalent to ordinary Boeing 707. It is equipped with four Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-9 turbofan engines, with a single thrust16,000 lbs and a maximum range. The flying altitude is usually above 15 km, the cruising speed is 860 km, and the cruising time can exceed 12 hours. Because all kinds of RC- 135 are equipped with aerial refueling devices, the actual flight time can greatly exceed 12 hours, and the longest air detention time can reach 20 hours.
Since it came out, it has been improved in many aspects, such as A, S, U, V, W and X. The latest model is X. These types of reconnaissance planes can be used for signal intelligence, electronic intelligence and ballistic missile intelligence, among which RC- 135S is the main model for reconnaissance of ballistic missiles. It is equipped with a high-precision optical detection device, which can measure the warhead loaded into the atmosphere, and its airborne electronic reconnaissance equipment can collect, process and analyze the radio frequency and related information of missile guidance, so this aircraft is an important part of the missile defense plan in the US theater. RC- 135V and RC- 135W are somewhat different from RC- 135S. They focus on collecting electromagnetic signals, and their task is to detect all kinds of electromagnetic wave information in the air in real time, and locate, analyze, record and process the target. Radar technology reconnaissance system can collect technical parameters such as early warning, guidance and guided radar frequency and locate them. All kinds of radar parameters in the world are within its measurement range, and the measurement accuracy is quite high. The width of the measuring pulse can be accurate to 0.65438 0 micron, and the azimuth can be accurate to 65438 0. Vehicle communication signal reconnaissance system can detect audio, audio, telex, telegram and other signals. Radio stations with a distance of 600 to 800 kilometers can be detected at an altitude of 10000 meters. The detected electronic signals are automatically recorded and transmitted to the ground station or returned to the base for processing through compressed communication. For particularly important information, it can directly form intelligence by monitoring and report it to the ground commander in time. There are also infrared detectors and forward-looking radars on board. The detection distance is 238 to 370 kilometers, and objects 3.7 meters long can be distinguished within 360 kilometers. The newly improved RC- 135X reconnaissance plane is equipped with photoelectric system, including long-distance visible infrared reconnaissance sensor, long-distance laser ranging system and mission inspection software. This new system can directly contact US Air Force fighters, ground command centers and even satellites, and can transmit the most authentic information to US military theater commanders around the world in the first time. Therefore, the excellent performance, coupled with its advanced navigation system of high frequency, very high frequency, very high frequency radio communication, radar and Doppler /GPS/INS, makes RC- 135' s greatest advantage in performing reconnaissance tasks is that it does not need to enter or get too close to enemy airspace, so it can conduct reconnaissance activities in public airspace. Because of this, RC- 135 is not equipped with a weapon system.
At present, the US Air Force has 17 RC- 135 strategic reconnaissance planes, all of which are equipped with active troops. Neither the US National Guard nor the reserve forces are equipped with such aircraft. According to the US Army's construction plan for the new century, the US Air Force also plans to purchase more RC- 135 reconnaissance planes.
Recruit troops throughout the air force.
In view of the importance of RC- 135 in US military operations in the new century, RC- 135 reconnaissance troops are recruiting troops throughout the air force. RC- 135 belongs to the 55th Wing of US Air Combat Command, which is stationed at Offord Air Force Base. So RC- 135 aircraft tail related words. The logo of RC- 135 not only has the pattern of RC- 135 reconnaissance plane, but also bears the slogan: "Reconnaissance is my life, and danger is my business. The crew of each RC- 135, including four flight technicians, came from different squadrons of the 55th Wing. The specific personnel configuration is as follows: pilots, navigators and maintenance personnel belong to the 38 th reconnaissance squadron; Electronic warfare officers, commonly known as "raven officers" and random technical officers in the US military, belong to the 343rd reconnaissance squadron, and the rest of the crew are from the 97th squadron.
If the task is tight and manpower is insufficient, the US Air Force's 95th Reconnaissance Squadron stationed at Millhall Air Force Base in Britain can send pilots and pilots to fly the plane, and the 488th Intelligence Squadron stationed at the same base can provide intelligence officers working in the back of the plane. If RC- 135 is transferred to the Asia-Pacific region to carry out reconnaissance missions, the 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron stationed in kadena air force base, Okinawa will usually provide all necessary support. Due to the heavy tasks of RC- 135 troops and the fact that newly purchased aircraft are about to join the fleet, the US military is recruiting troops throughout the air force. As long as you open the website of the US Air Force Personnel Command, you will see the electronic advertisement of RC- 135 troops. According to this recruitment electronic advertisement, what the US Army RC- 135 lacks most at this stage is electronic warfare officers. Major Frohring, who is in charge of recruitment, claimed that if an officer with electronic warfare experience wants to join the RC- 135 unit, he only needs to say hello to the headquarters commander and communicate with the post deployment officer of the Air Force Personnel Command, and then he can be transferred to Offord Air Force Base.
In addition, there is a serious shortage of pilots and navigators flying over RC- 135. I hope volunteers can join RC- 135. Anyone who wishes to do so can call the personnel command of the US Air Force and have the personnel deployment officer talk face to face with the person who requests the transfer of troops. In order to increase the attraction of Offord Air Force Base, the base is stepping up the construction of various welfare facilities, and promises to receive training at Offord base instead of moving to overseas bases.
The ghost of RC- 135 can be seen everywhere in hot spots.
What reconnaissance mission does RC- 135 strategic electronic reconnaissance plane with superior performance perform? What major military operations have been completed?
The position and task of the RC- 135 strategic electronic reconnaissance plane is defined in the internal document of the National Defense Air Reconnaissance Office of the US Department of Defense: "Sun Tzu's Art of War says,' Know yourself and know yourself, and you will win every battle'. If the US Air Force wants to provide battlefield air, sky, ground, water and underwater information to the commander of the United States Joint Forces in the 2nd/Kloc-0th century, it has to rely on reconnaissance satellites in the sky.
Generally, RC- 135 is mainly used for high-altitude long-range strategic reconnaissance of global target countries. RC- 135 was originally an aircraft specialized in airborne electronic reconnaissance by the US Air Force. During the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, in order to comprehensively monitor the Soviet ballistic missile bases and tests, the United States modified the RC- 135 high-altitude electronic reconnaissance plane on the basis of the C-135 transport plane in the early 1960s. The model can track the flight state of missile warhead on the high seas, infer the performance and related data of ballistic missile, and judge the position of launching point and landing point. In addition, RC- 135 can effectively detect the information of various electronic facilities and provide parameters for electronic warfare.
In wartime, RC- 135 can quickly capture and analyze various electronic threats on the battlefield, then coordinate the analysis results with other electronic warfare systems, and finally provide the target data to the strike force. The usual way for the US Air Force to use RC- 135 in wartime is to join hands with E-3 airborne early warning aircraft and "United Star" to provide timely operational management information for decision makers, battlefield commanders and fighter pilots.
In recent years, RC- 135 has frequently appeared in battlefields, hot spots and routine reconnaissance operations: RC- 135 participated in actual combat for the first time in the just cause of invading Panama; In the Gulf War Desert Shield/operation desert storm, the US military sent four RC- 135 reconnaissance planes to conduct uninterrupted reconnaissance and surveillance on Iraq, with an average of two flights in the air every day, and the reconnaissance time of each plane was 12 hours; In the Kosovo war, RC- 135 became the most effective reconnaissance tool put into actual combat by the US Air Force. RC- 135, which took part in the war, took off from Songda Bay in Greece every time, and then cruised over the Adriatic Sea, which is quite far from Kosovo, in order to conduct uninterrupted signal reconnaissance on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
According to the US Air Force, this RC- 135 aircraft is equipped with a special sensor array, which can monitor any radar signal activity of the Yugoslav military or intercept its radio communication. Once the information of Yugoslav military activities is obtained, RC- 135 will immediately transmit the information to NATO fighters, who will carry out continuous air strikes on the target.
The ghost of RC- 135 can also be seen in hot spots at any time: RC- 135 is always involved in military actions such as "providing comfort" in the evacuation of Iraqi Kurds, flying south to observe, "no-fly action" in the so-called no-fly zone in southern Iraq, "agile warrior", "dedication commitment" and "upholding democracy". The information they collected in hot spots was sent to theater commanders, the US Department of Defense and the US National Command respectively, and the collected data was handed over to the US Air Combat Command, the US Air Intelligence Agency and the US National Security Agency for processing, analysis and storage.
In the usual reconnaissance operations, taking the Asia-Pacific region as an example, the RC- 135 of the US Air Force is usually a US military base deployed in Okinawa, Japan. After taking off from this base, it began to conduct reconnaissance along the coast of the reconnaissance target country. Traditionally, after taking off from Okinawa, you can fly north first, turn to fly south when approaching the territorial waters and airspace of the target country, fly parallel to the southernmost point along the sea-air boundary line along the southeast coast of the target country, and then turn around and fly north once. According to the news confirmed by South Korean media on July 23, after the Cheonan incident, the United States regularly used strategic reconnaissance planes to spy on North Korea. A South Korean military official said: "After South Korea and the United States upgraded the surveillance level of the DPRK from the third level to the second level in May, the US military authorities put the strategic reconnaissance planes RC- 135 and EP-3 deployed in Okinawa, Japan into the Korean Peninsula and launched regular reconnaissance activities."
According to South Korea's "Central Daily News" on July 24, South Korean military sources said: "RC- 135 and EP-3 fly from Okinawa to the Korean Peninsula 2-3 times a week to monitor the movements of Korean troops." "These reconnaissance planes flew for several hours in China's airspace, territorial waters and high seas after going north to the vicinity of Bering Island in the Yellow Sea to monitor the movement of the North Korean army north of the northern boundary line (NLL) of the Yellow Sea and the armistice line. The reconnaissance activities of the US military strategic reconnaissance plane have decreased. " "The Korea-US Joint Command recently discussed reducing the intelligence surveillance situation to the third level before the Cheonan incident, but it has not yet reached a conclusion and decided to discuss it again after the end of the Korea-US joint military exercise with the nature of demonstrations against the DPRK from the 25th to 28th of this month."
It is reported that the US Air Force reconnaissance plane RC- 135 (Cobra Ball) can detect the information of football-sized objects at a distance of 550 kilometers, which is mainly used to detect the launch of ballistic missiles. The plane can monitor the whole territory of North Korea over Bering Island. The US Navy reconnaissance plane EP-3 (ARIES) collects all kinds of radio waves from radar and communication equipment owned by North Korea to detect the movement of North Korea.