Boeing EC-135
| Boeing EC-135 | |
|---|---|
 A Strategic Air Command EC-135A |
|
| Type: | Four-engine military aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
3rd February 1961 |
| Number of pieces: |
71 |
The Boeing EC-135 is a variant of the military transport aircraft C-135 with special electronic equipment. The United States Air Force (USAF) used them for various purposes from 1961 to 2003. Among other things, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) used them as an airborne command post and flying radio relay . The NASA used the EC-135 for monitoring and for data transmission between spacecraft and ground stations.
Only the EC-135C were newly built aircraft, albeit under a different name. All other EC-135 are converted C-135 transporters and KC-135 tankers .
variants
overview
- EC-135A: KC-135A converted into airborne command centers of the Strategic Air Command; 14 pieces from 1964
- EC-135B: C-135B with ARIA equipment; 2 pieces from 1979
- EC-135C: airborne command centers of the SAC; renamed KC-135B, 17 pieces from 1965
- EC-135E: modernized EC-135N; 4 pieces from 1982
- EC-135G: airborne command centers with advanced technology; 4 pieces from 1965
- EC-135H: airborne command centers for the European and Atlantic areas of command of the US armed forces ; 5 pieces from 1966
- EC-135J: Emergency command center for the US government and later command center for the Pacific area ; 4 pieces from 1966
- EC-135K: airborne command centers of the Tactical Air Command (TAC) ; 3 pieces from 1961
- EC-135L: airborne radio relay; 8 pieces from 1965
- EC-135N: Former C-135A for Space Telemetry (ARIA); 8 pieces from 1966
- EC-135P: Airborne Command Centers of the Pacific Area; 5 pieces from 1967
- EC-135Y: airborne command center of the Central Command ; 1 piece from 1983
EC-135A, -C and -G
- origin
In 1960, the US Air Force began testing five KC-135A Stratotankers in airborne command posts (ACP) for Strategic Air Command (SAC) . With their help, his bombers and ICBMs should be ready for action even after the conventional communication facilities and command centers on the ground have already been destroyed by an attack. The machines received a refueling system in order to be able to extend the service life. A compartment with communication devices and a table for meetings was created on the main deck, and additional antennas were installed on the outside. The SAC also referred to the overall system as the Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS) . As long as the ACPs were not intended for specific missions, their general name at the SAC was Cover All .
- Looking Glass
In February 1961, the SAC's airborne command centers began regular operations under the name Looking Glass . By the end of 1962 the fleet had grown to 16 units. At the same time, the USAF ordered 17 new aircraft for this purpose, which Boeing built from 1963 as the KC-135B and delivered from February 1964 to February 1965. These second-generation command posts were compared with the older version with more powerful turbofan engines of the type Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-9 , additional wire antennas for long wave radio and modernized communication technology. They too could be refueled in the air.
Because of their special role, the ACPs received new names from 1964. The KC-135A with the registration number 62-3579 was the first to be renamed the EC-135A on September 2, 1964 . On January 1, 1965, almost all of the first-generation command posts based on the KC-135A were given this designation, the KC-135B were now called the EC-135C . After the commissioning of the newer version, the EC-135A served as reserve machines and, among other things, as a flying relay station for military radio communications. From 1965 to 1967 three KC-135A command aircraft and one EC-135A were converted to EC-135G . They differed from the other EC-135A through more modern electronics and could also be used as radio relays. The tank system including the telescopic boom was retained in all of these machines and was used regularly for training or for emergencies. In early 1990, the Air Force equipped four EC-135Cs with a system for satellite communication through the Pacer Link program , externally recognizable by a hump on the fuselage, under which the antenna for the MILSTAR radio was hidden.
The Looking Glass missions consisted of eight-hour shifts. If the replacement could not take place due to bad weather or technical problems, the use of an ACP was extended by a further eight hours. If necessary, refueling was carried out in the air. In addition to the actual aircraft crew (pilot, copilot, navigator, boom operator), the crew consisted of a further 10 to 14 members, including an SAC commander (often a general , but at least one colonel ), deputy chief of operations, specialists in intelligence , data processing and weather as well several radio technicians. The USAF initially stationed the EC-135 at Andrews Air Force Base ( Maryland ), Barksdale AFB ( Louisiana ), March AFB ( California ), Offutt AFB ( Nebraska ) and Westover AFB ( Massachusetts ). They were initially assigned to existing tanker and reconnaissance units, but on April 1, 1970, the Strategic Air Command founded independent squadrons for the PACCS aircraft, the Airborne Command and Control Squadrons (ACCS), and distributed them to various other bases in the USA.
From February 3, 1961 to July 24, 1990 such a Looking Glass machine was constantly in the air. Only twice, in 1963 and 1972, was the mission interrupted for a maximum of 20 minutes, each time a sick crew member had to be dropped off. At least in the two years up to the dissolution of the Strategic Air Command on June 1, 1992, only one operation per day started. The Luftwaffe decommissioned four EC-135Cs in 1992 and 1993 and stored them in the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG). Around half a dozen remained in service with the 7th ACCS of the Air Combat Command in Offutt in support of the United States Strategic Command until the end of the 1990s . From October 1, 1998, the US Navy's Boeing E-6 TACAMO took over the Looking Glass missions. The MILSTAR equipment was removed from the EC-135C and installed in the E-6A, which was then named E-6B.
- Further use
Another special feature of EC-135C, EC-135G and several EC-135A was the possibility of board of remotely launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles trigger if the start centers had been devastated about by an opponent's attack. These Airborne Launch Control Centers (ALCC) were officially operational on May 31, 1967. During the Cold War , in the event of a crisis, two to three ALCCs would have circled over the US missile silo fields, waiting for orders to start the Minuteman or Peacekeeper .
The EC-135C were also equipped to take the President, his Deputy and the Secretary of Defense ( National Command Authority ) on board in an emergency . She served as National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) , so as the command center in case of emergency (state of emergency) . For this purpose, the machines had additional radio devices for specially protected, encrypted communication with other command points. The Luftwaffe had three of these aircraft modernized to EC-135J from 1965 onwards.
In 1993 the Air Force converted an EC-135C (USAF registration number 63-8050) into a test aircraft for laser weapon systems for the Air Force Materiel Command . From 1993 she was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base . In October 1996 it was named NKC-135B and was later also called Big Crow II . The USAF has been calling it NC-135E since early 2006. Since then, her front hull has been painted completely black on the port side, with a white missile painted on it. Strong light and heat sources are installed at the stern of this "rocket", which simulate the hot recoil jet of a rocket. The aiming device of the prototype Boeing YAL-1A Airborne Laser is to be tested from Kirtland Air Force Base .
Another EC-135C (62-3582) was renamed WC-135C after 1998 and is used to measure meteorological and atmospheric data. The Air Force either had the remaining EC-135A and -C stored at the AMARC or converted into other variants.
EC-135B, -E and -N ARIA
In the early 1960s, the US space agency NASA and the Department of Defense began developing a global communications network to support their rocket and satellite programs , especially for the Apollo missions to the moon. For this purpose, ships and aircraft should be procured that locate and track the spacecraft and transmit voice and data radio to the control center. The Air Force agreed in November 1964 to transfer eight C-135A jet transporters to NASA for this purpose. The USAF no longer needed her as a freighter, as the new C-141 Starlifter increasingly took on this task.
As part of the conversion called Pacer Liner , Douglas converted the airframes of the C-135A from 1966, while Bendix was responsible for the technical equipment. The machines received a large bow radome three meters in diameter, the Snoopy nose . It housed the largest movable antenna on board an aircraft at the time, a parabolic antenna that was steerable around two axes and had a diameter of 2.13 m. It was optimized for the transmission of radio and telemetry data in the P and S bands . The electronics on the main deck, weighing more than 13 tons and with control consoles, consisted of several subsystems: Transmitting and receiving devices for various frequencies for contact with spacecraft and ground stations, data processing devices, magnetic tape recorders, cameras and a high-precision rubidium clock . Four machines were able to carry the extended optical equipment ALOTS (Airborne Lightweight Optical Tracking System). A camera could be attached to the outside of the cargo door on the left front fuselage, which, because of its streamlined fairing and size, looked like a fifth engine. After the conversion, which cost at least four million US dollars per machine, the aircraft were given the designation EC-135N ARIA (for: Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft ). The first flight took place on September 19, 1966. NASA stationed the ARIAs at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida .
The eight EC-135Ns were used together for the first time in April 1968 at Apollo 6 . A typical ARIA mission began about a week before a planned rocket launch in Florida with the relocation of the EC-135 to its operational areas. For example, three machines to Bermuda for the Atlantic, two to Hawaii for the Pacific, while three stayed in Florida to cover the Gulf of Mexico in the launch phase. At least two hours before the end of the countdown , the first ARIAs started and flew pre-calculated routes in order to always ensure an optimal radio connection to the rocket as well as to ground stations or satellites. The Pacific ARIAs then usually established the first radio contact with the astronauts after the re-entry of the landing capsule , as was the case with the risky return of Apollo 13 . During the landing phase, the EC-135N observed the capsule and were able to guide the rescue teams to the ditching point, especially in the event of deviations. The ARIA flights lasted an average of ten hours. In addition to the four-person cockpit crew, the crew consisted of an operations manager and 8 to 18 technicians.
After the Apollo program ended, the Air Force relocated the EC-135N ARIA to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in 1975, changing the meaning of ARIA to Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft . In the years that followed, the aircraft accompanied numerous civil and military rocket and satellite projects, including Pershing , Trident , Landsat and Mars Observer .
The USAF also had two C-135Bs equipped as ARIAs from 1979 to 1980. They had already participated in the similar program TRIA (Telemetry Range Instrumented Aircraft) and therefore brought the distinctive Snoopy nose with them. They were given the designation EC-135B . The first machine with the registration number 62-4128 was further converted to the RC-135X Cobra Eye in 1983 . The second (62-4133) has been used as a Cobra Ball trainer since it was converted to the TC-135S in 1985 . The ARIA electronics of the two EC-135B came from two EC-135N, which were then run together with another dismantled machine as the C-135N. The Luftwaffe modernized four EC-135Ns in 1982 with turbofan engines of the type TF33 and have been called EC-135E since then . Two of them participated from 1984 as CMMCA (Cruise Missile Mission Control Aircraft) in the testing of cruise missiles like the AGM-129 . An EC-135N (61-0327) was converted from 1985 to a command aircraft for the Central Command . It received new engines, a tank boom and a tank system so that it could be refueled in the air. Despite the modifications, its designation remained with EC-135N. It took on the same task as the EC-135Y. The Air Force retired the 61-0327 in February 2003.
In addition to the EC-135, NASA also used several converted Boeing 707s with ARIA equipment from the early 1980s , which were named EC-18B. From 1994 the ARIA fleet operated from Edwards Air Force Base, California . The last EC-135 ARIA (60-0374) was flown to the USAF Museum on November 3, 2000 , where it has been on display ever since. The last ARIA flight took place on August 24, 2001 with an EC-18B.
EC-135H
Between 1966 and 1968, Ling-Temco-Vought converted two EC-135A and three KC-135A into command and communication platforms for the European regional command of the US armed forces . Their equipment was similar to that of the other command aircraft, with a tank system and extensive communications equipment. Under the name Silk Purse , they were stationed in RAF Mildenhall , Great Britain and on Lajes Field in the Azores until the end of 1991 .
An EC-135H served in the Atlantic Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia from 1974 . It was converted to the P version in 1988. The remaining four were shut down by the Luftwaffe in 1991.
EC-135J
From 1965 to 1967 three EC-135Cs were initially equipped with more modern electronics and a more spacious conference compartment through the Night Watch III program and were then given the designation EC-135J. They were available to the commanders-in-chief of the US government as a command center for emergencies. The Air Force stationed them at their headquarters at Andrews Air Force Base near the government seat of Washington DC One of them was constantly on alert for night watch operations . From 1974 the Boeing E-4 took over this role from the EC-135J. The SAC then passed them on to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii , where they served the commander of the Pacific Air Forces under the name Blue Eagle as a flying command center until 1993, replacing older EC-135Ps. In February 1980 a fourth EC-135J was added, which had previously served as the EC-135C in Hickam for two years as a training aircraft for Blue Eagle .
EC-135K
From 1961 the Luftwaffe had three KC-135A converted to command post EC-135K for the Tactical Air Command (TAC) . Under the name of Head Dancer , the machines accompanied and controlled, above all, the relocation of combat aircraft formations to and from Europe and Asia. They also served as a VIP transport aircraft. The first such aircraft was the 55-3118, the first ever KC-135 to be built. From January 1961, the Pacer Daisy renovation program gave it a new interior with space for the operations command and nine communication specialists. The tank boom was removed, antennas, radios and teleprinters installed. US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger used this machine for discreet diplomatic missions in the 1970s, among other things because it was less noticeable than the usual VIP aircraft VC-135B and VC-137 .
In 1963 the Air Force wanted to purchase additional head dancers, but only got one more approved. The KC-135A 62-3536, which had previously been used by NASA for parabolic flights , became the second EC-135K in 1970. When she had an accident in 1977, the 59-1518 previously used by the FAA moved up in late 1979. Both machines remained with Tactical Air Command or its successor Air Combat Command until 1996 , then the USAF put the 55-3118 out of service and relocated the other as a C-135K for VIP flights to Hawaii.
EC-135L
Lockheed converted eight KC-135A to EC-135L between 1965 and 1968. The Strategic Air Command used it as a relay station for military radio communications between the various ground-based and air-based command centers. In this function, the aircraft replaced the older EB-47L . The EC-135L received radio equipment for encrypted communication and antennas on the fuselage. The tank boom remained, a refueling system was added in order to be able to extend the service life by refueling. The EC-135L were initially stationed at Grissom Air Force Base , Indiana , Lockbourne AFB , Ohio , and Minot AFB in North Dakota . Two machines were temporarily used in the Vietnam War in 1967 . In 1970 the USAF had three L models converted to tanker aircraft. At least two of the flying radio relays took part in the Second Gulf War in 1990. The five remaining EC-135L flew the Air Force to the AMARC in 1992.
EC-135P
The seven EC-135Ps served mainly as airborne command centers for the Pacific Regional Command of the US Forces (PACOM) . The Air Force had five EC-135A easily converted for this purpose from 1965 onwards, relocated them to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii and designated them as EC-135P from March 31, 1967. Her name at PACOM was Blue Eagle . The Pacific Air Forces also used them as VIP aircraft. Starting in 1973, three EC-135P were relocated to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia , where they served the Atlantic Command as command centers under the name Scope Light . The other two machines were dismantled to tankers KC-135A, to compensate EC-135J came to Hawaii. In 1988 a former EC-135H was added to the fleet. When an EC-135P was destroyed by fire in January 1980, the Air Force had a KC-135 converted for Blue Eagle as a replacement . NASA had previously used this machine for its astronaut training. The P models were retired in 1992.
EC-135Y
The only EC-135Y was created in 1983 from the NKC-135A with the registration number 55-3125. This served the commander of the Central Command (CENTCOM) alongside an EC-135N as an airborne command center and was used, among other things, in the Second Gulf War . It was shut down in February 1999.
Incidents
Four EC-135s were lost in accidents, and a total of 41 people died.
- The EC-135N with the registration number 61-0328 crashed on May 6, 1981 during a training flight. It fell into a dive and exploded before hitting the ground near Walkersville , Maryland . All 21 inmates were killed. The official accident report states that at the time of the accident a guest was sitting in one of the pilot's seats. In fact, the wives of two crew members who were only guests on board are said to have sat in both pilot positions. One of them piloted the plane until it got out of hand. The pilots could no longer intervene in time.
- On January 3, 1980, the EC-135P 58-0007 shorted out at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, without taking any casualties.
- The EC-135K 62-3536 crashed into a mountainside on September 14, 1977 immediately after taking off from Kirtland Air Force Base , New Mexico . All 20 people died on board.
- An EC-135J (62-3584) skidded and broke on May 29, 1992 while landing at Pope Air Force Base , North Carolina . The crew managed to save themselves.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data from the Boeing EC-135E |
|---|---|
| length | 43.1 m |
| Wingspan | 39.9 m |
| height | 12.7 m |
| Wing area | 226 m² |
| drive | Four Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102 with 80 kN thrust each |
| Top speed | 910 km / h |
| Use radius | 4,300 km |
| Summit height | 10,000 m |
| Empty weight | approx. 58 t |
| Max. Takeoff weight | 136 t |
| crew | 4 + 19 |
literature
- Don Logan: The Boeing C-135 Series. Atglen, Pennsylvania, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0286-8 .
- Robert S. Hopkins: Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. More than just a tanker. Earl Shilton, 1997. ISBN 1-85780-069-9 .
Web links
- http://www.flyaria.com Private site about ARIA
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mark Thompson: Way, Way Off in the Wild Blue Yonder. In: Time , May 29, 1995, p. 33.