Rivet Joint begins three-phase upgrade

by 1st Lt. Jeff Roberts
363rd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

06/14/02 - OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH (AFPN) -- One of the first upgraded RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft in the Air Force inventory is now here at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.

With an additional 16,000 pounds of thrust provided by the F-108 engines, the new aircraft has increased endurance, increased reliability, and delivers an anticipated 25,000 more flying hours per engine than before.

“We are replacing 1960s technology with 1990s technology,” said Capt. Allen Stewart, 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron director of operations and RC-135 instructor pilot. “These new engines will increase our fuel efficiency by 15 percent, increase our time to conduct the mission and (enable us) to do the mission much more quietly than before.”

This re-engine initiative for the 14 RJ planes is one of three initiatives to keep the reconnaissance aircraft contributing to the Air Force mission into the year 2020 or even 2030.

The second phase is an update of critical mission equipment for the electronic warfare officers, intelligence operators and in-flight maintenance technicians.

Phase three will update avionics equipment, changing over to the Rivet Glass system that will replace analog equipment with digital and conform to Global Air Traffic Management requirements.

“Reliability of the new engines will definitely help us get the mission done with the limited airframes we have available,” said Lt. Col. Igor Gardner, 12th Expeditionary Intelligence Squadron commander.

“Less ambient noise also reduces crew fatigue,” he said.

This RJ aircraft, which is permanently stationed at Offutt AFB, Neb., has been in this theater since Operation Desert Shield in August 1990, and has flown more than 3,400 missions here to date.

The success of the RJ weapon system depends on both the 763rd ERS, including its flight-deck crews, avionics and airframe maintainers and electronic warfare officers, and the 12th EINS with its airborne maintenance technicians and intelligence operators. They all work together to provide real-time reconnaissance support to Operation Southern Watch flight operations.

Related Images

First Lt. Pete Rakovalis, a 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron Raven III manual systems operator, checks the status of equipment on the RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft with Staff Sgt. Brandi Hicks, 763rd ERS computer systems administrator. Both airmen are deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, supporting Operation Southern Watch. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Cook)

Staff Sgt. Carlos Bennett Jr., an RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft electrical and environmental specialist, works on the landing gear electrical system for the aircraft. Bennett is deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, supporting Operation Southern Watch. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Cook)