UK to get Rivet Joint Sigint Birds

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 07 Oct 2008, 07:37

From AF Daily Report 7 Oct 08

Pentagon Announces Rivet Joint Sale: The Department of Defense last week informed Congress of its intent to convert three KC-135R tankers into RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence platforms for Britain under a proposed foreign military sale. If all options are exercised, the pending deal, including associated equipment and services, could be worth as much as $1.068 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a release Oct. 2. "The United Kingdom requests this capability to provide for the defense of its deployed troops, regional security, and interoperability with the United States," DSCA said. The Air Force has said it will make up for the three fewer tankers by temporarily allowing a higher utilization rate on its remaining KC-135Rs, assigning more crews, and adopting efficiencies in the KC-135R schoolhouse.

Post by **btaylo24** » 07 Oct 2008, 10:44

Yahoo!

Cant wait to see em!

barry

Post by **VulcanDriver** » 07 Oct 2008, 15:34

Excellent. Are we getting the full avionics fit or is it a case of it being sourced from the UK?

John

Post by **Firebird** » 07 Oct 2008, 15:38

Don't say that, John. I have visions of boxes with 'Dixons' on the side being loaded on board

.

Post by **VulcanDriver** » 07 Oct 2008, 15:42

Firebird wrote:Don't say that, John. I have visions of boxes with 'Dixons' on the side being loaded on board .

I just have a horrible feeling that the Nimrod R.1 will be stripped of its innards and put inside the RC-135

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 07 Oct 2008, 20:44

VulcanDriver wrote:
Firebird wrote:Don't say that, John. I have visions of boxes with 'Dixons' on the side being loaded on board .
I just have a horrible feeling that the Nimrod R.1 will be stripped of its innards and put inside the RC-135

The US birds are fitted out by "E-Systems" in Texas. I would bet they would also do the mods on those for the UK. Probably a package deal.

Post by **VulcanDriver** » 07 Oct 2008, 20:52

I assume RAF crews will be flying them. I've read a report in the London Times that said they would be crewed by USAF personnel but the aircraft would wear RAF markings.

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 07 Oct 2008, 21:42

VulcanDriver wrote:I assume RAF crews will be flying them. I've read a report in the London Times that said they would be crewed by USAF personnel but the aircraft would wear RAF markings.

I would also bet the RAF will be the crews. Right now the USAF 'back-end' crews are stretched pretty thin and like others deploy more frequently than they want. My neighbor over the back fence is a crew-member and makes frequent trips to the "desert." I also have a retired friend who teaches at the school for the Recce Electronic Warfare Officers. Building an effective EWO is a long process. There are also some Ops out of Offutt directly to high interest areas and that takes a pretty large crew force.

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 10 Oct 2008, 22:25

GZR_Sactargets wrote:
VulcanDriver wrote:I assume RAF crews will be flying them. I've read a report in the London Times that said they would be crewed by USAF personnel but the aircraft would wear RAF markings.
I would also bet the RAF will be the crews. Right now the USAF 'back-end' crews are stretched pretty thin and like others deploy more frequently than they want. My neighbor over the back fence is a crew-member and makes frequent trips to the "desert." I also have a retired friend who teaches at the school for the Recce Electronic Warfare Officers. Building an effective EWO is a long process. There are also some Ops out of Offutt directly to high interest areas and that takes a pretty large crew force.

I may have spoke too soon. From the 10 Oct 08 AF Daily report:

Aerial Melting Pot: Reportedly for the first time, airmen from Australia, Britain, Canada, and the US are flying operational sorties as part of the same crew in the same aircraft. This history is being made in an E-3 AWACS air-surveillance aircraft from the 552nd Air Control Wing, Tinker AFB, Okla., that is currently operating in Southwest Asia with the 965th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron. Gary Boyd, historian with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing that runs the forward air base from which AWACS aircraft operate, believes this is a first. He said, "I don't know of any other time when four coalition members have flown operational sorties on the same aircraft." The Tinker-based 552nd ACW has coalition airmen assigned to it under various exchange programs. They are "an integral part of our units," said Lt. Col. Andreas Forstner, 965th EAACS commander. He continued, "The experience they bring is balanced by the experience they gain from our operations and airmen; it's a mutually beneficial system." That feeling is indeed mutual. "Not that we do things better, we just sometimes do things different, and I think both us and our US counterparts gain a lot of advantage from the different approaches," said Royal Air Force Flt. Lt. Matt Brunton, currently the lone British officer with the 965th. He came over from a RAF AWACS unit. (380th AEW report by TSgt. Denise Johnson)

CelticWarrior · Post by **CelticWarrior** » 11 Oct 2008, 07:21

Is that lone officer, or loan officer?