Category Archives: Technology

International, Technology

Vehicle I-D: Armura Moldovan, in a Cold War created country that could go Hot any second!

Video

Moldova is not a member of NATO, but has joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council making it an official NATO ‘partner’.  NATO ‘partner’ countries are located all across the Earth, not just in the North Atlantic (the original justification for the creation of NATO was to form a joint defense system for countries in the North Atlantic).

Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.

BTRs during wargames, December 2020.  The flag on the first vehicle is the national flag, the flag on the second vehicle is the flag of the Ministry of Defense.

Official Moldovan Ministry of Defense video showing training with BTRs, towed D-20 artillery, various types of MTLBs, culminating in live fire, December 2020:

Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.

Engineer vehicle based on T-72 hull, November 2020.

Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.

Video of engineer vehicles in action, November 2020:

Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.

BMP artillery radar vehicle followed by 2S9s and BMD-1s, November 2020.

Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.

Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.

An Antonov-2 flies over MTLBs, October 2020.

Photo via Moldovan Ministry of Defense.

T-72 engineer vehicle, July 2020.

Video of vehicle review, and some live fire, July 2020.  Sadly, that’s about it for the Moldovan National Army.  At the end of the video the Minister of Defense, Alexandru Pinzari, admits they are working with “obsolete” equipment:

North Carolina Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Robert Jordan, 12SEP2019.

Loading anti-tank missile (9M113 Konkurs, NATO codename AT-5 Spandrel) onto a BRDM-2-Anti-Tank armored car, Bulboaca Training Area, September 2019.

North Carolina Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Robert Jordan, 12SEP2019.

Moldova used to be a part of Romania, called Bessarabia.  Under Soviet rule Bessarabia became the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic.  With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moldova declared independence in August 1991.

North Carolina Army National Guard photo by Sergeant First Class Robert Jordan, 14SEP2016.

BMD based 2S9 Nona self propelled airborne artillery gun, Bulboaca Training Area, September 2016.

Since 1996, the North Carolina Army National Guard has been training with the Moldovan army, through the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Guard State Partnership Program.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Ryan Young, 12DEC2014.

BRDM-2 over-watch as U.S. Marine launches a Javelin anti-tank missile in Balti, December 2014.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Ryan Young, 12DEC2014.

An old BTR gets taken out by a Javelin.

Video, BTR dies:

Video explainer report, USMC anti-armor training in Moldova, 2014:

Video of various anti-tank weapons being used, December 2014:

From what I’ve researched, Moldova has between zero and possibly a whopping three Main Battle Tanks (MBT), all T-64BV.

Photo by Neil Brennan.

The reason for little or no MBTs in Moldova is apparently because of a cease fire agreement between Moldova and a former territory called Transnistria (Transnistria actually declared independence one year before greater Moldova, yet the ‘NATO’ world refuses to recognize it because it is one of the last few Soviet Republics that still believes the Soviet Union is alive and well).  The Sweden based OSCE has been overseeing arms control agreements including the destruction of heavy military vehicles like MBTs.  Moldova has complied, but not Transnistria (meaning tiny Transnistria has more armored vehicles than much larger Moldova).

The majority of Moldova’s existing armor are Soviet era armored cars of various types, then tracked utility vehicles like MTLB, and tracked self propelled artillery guns/rocket launchers.

Moldovan news pic of a supposed T-54? (note the spokes on the road wheels) that had been hidden by a family in a disputed district.

At the beginning of 2017, a news report said that a family had been hiding a T-54(?) tank on their property in the divided district of Anenii Noi.  It was confiscated.

August 2018: Moldovan, N.C. troops train at Fort Bliss

Vehicle I-D: SUOMALAISET (Finnish) LEOPARDIT JA SISU PASI JA CV9030 JA MTLB JA 2S1 JA BMP-2 JA AMOS

International, Technology

Vehicle I-D: Jordanian Shield اردني درع

Video

Al Hussein (aka Challenger 1 FV4030/4) and AH-1S/F Cobra. Photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.

German made Marder 1A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.

Marder 1A3, photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.

South African made Ratel, on UN ‘peacekeeping’ duty. Photo via Jordanian Armed Forces.

Jordanian Armed Forces promotional video, November 2021:

Photo via Royal Hashemite Court.

Jordan’s King Abdullah the Second, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein, inspect one of at least 80 ‘donated’ (from United Arab Emirates) French-made Leclerc tanks, October 2020.

Photo via Royal Hashemite Court.

Old U.S. made M60A3 tanks during wargames, October 2020.

Official Royal Hashemite Court video:

USA photo by Sergeant First Class Kenneth Upsall.

A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant finds out what it is like driving a Jordanian Challenger-1, called Al Hussein (الحسين), January 2017.

U.S. Army photo by Sergeant First Class Kenneth Upsall, 08JAN2017.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sergeant Vitaliy Rusavskiy, 17MAY2017.

Jordanian M113A2MK-1J mingling with U.S. Marine Corps  Amphibious Assault Vehicle-P7/A1, May 2017.

USMC photo by Corporal Jessica Y. Lucio, 17MAY2017.

USA photo by Sergeant Youtoy Martin, 17JAN2016.

M113A2MK-1J, January 2016.  Video report, U.S. Army trains with Jordanian M113A2 unit, January 2016:

Al Hussein, aka Challenger Mark 1, aka FV4030/4. USA photo by Specialist Ian Valley, 24MAY2016.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.

M60A3 tank fires during a combined live fire demonstration as part of Exercise Eager Lion in Wadi Shadiya, Jordan, 18MAY2015.

USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.

USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.

Photo by Captain Viet Nguyen.

Jordanian YPG-765 during Eager Lion 2015.

USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.

USMC photo by Corporal Sean Searfus, 18MAY2015.

USMC photo by Sergeant Austin Hazard, 29MAY2014.

YPG-765 during Eager Lion, May 2014.

USMC photo by Sergeant Austin Hazard, 29MAY2014.

USMC photo by Sergeant Austin Hazard, 29MAY2014.

Videos, Jordanian Al Hussein (الحسين), conducting live fire during Eager Lion, Summer of 2013:

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sergeant Richard Blumenstein, 07MAY2012.

Al Hussein (الحسين) fire during Eager Lion, May 2012.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Scott Stewart, 01SEP1987.

A Jordanian M113 is off-loaded from a U.S. Air Force C-141 Starlifter, during wargame Bright Star, in the North African country of Egypt, September 1987.

Vehicle I-D: IRAQI ARMOR, AFTER THE INVASION

Vehicle I-D: CHALLENGER vs LECLERC

2016: NATO’s secret chemical training for Jordan

International, Technology

NATO 2013: F-15 Eagles over Norge

Video

U.S. Air Force photo by First Lieutenant Christopher Mesnard, 20SEP2013.

In September 2013, U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles and E Strike Eagles joined USAF KC-135 tankers, and Norwegian F-16 Fighting Falcons, Swedish JAS-39 Gripens, Finish F-18 Hornets, U.K. Eurofighter Typhoons, and NATO E-3A AWACS, for the first ever Arctic Challenge over Norway.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Lee Osberry, 23SEP2013.

Video, by Airman 1st Class Amanda Sampson, F-15C and E Eagles taking off and landing at Bodø Main Air Station, during NATO’s Arctic Challenge, September 2013.  Good vibrations turbine sounds:

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Lee Osberry, 24SEP2013.

Video by First Lieutenant Christopher Mesnard of airborne fueling operations, Arctic Challenge September 2013:

USAF photo by First Lieutenant Christopher Mesnard, 12SEP2013.

Air Force Report, Arctic Challenge:

 

2020: NEW TAIL FEATHERS FOR OREGON EAGLE, B-17 BOMBER STYLE! PLUS, MINI-EAGLE.

2019: 

D-DAY F-15E STRIKE EAGLE

International, Technology, U.S.

U.S. Border Wall milestones of 2020

Video

During the decades of sporadic wall construction it should be noted that both Republican and Democrat politicians supported it.    The first wall section was built by the United States between 1909 and 1911.  Mexico built a wall section in 1918.  The walls were extended in the 1920s and in the 1940s.  President George H.W. Bush (senior) began new wall construction in the 1990s.  President Bill Clinton expanded funding for wall construction, in fact one book says it was under Clinton that wall construction became more focused in an attempt to stop drug and human smuggling.  President George W. Bush (junior) began new wall construction supposedly at the behest of California politicians.   President Barack Obama supposedly declared wall construction complete in 2011, yet quietly (secretly?) built an additional 128-miles (206-km) of wall.   In 2017, President Donald Trump officially restarted wall construction.  I predict President elect Joe Biden will not halt border wall construction.

Video, trench being dug for construction of wall near Columbus, New Mexico, April 2020:

Video, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) explaining why the U.S. needs a wall, June 2020:

 

Near El Paso, Texas, August 2020.

Video showing that wall construction continued at night in the South Pacific Border District, Arizona, September 2020:

Video, wall construction South Pacific Border District, California, September 2020:

Border wall slowly stretches across the desert near Columbus, New Mexico, October 2020.

Wall construction over mountains on the Barry M. Goldwater Range aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, October 2020.

New wall completed near Tucson, Arizona, 02NOV2020.

17DEC2020, Tucson 10/28 Border Barrier near Nogales, Arizona.

21DEC2020, the final section of Yuma 10/27 Border Barrier is installed, in Arizona.

Operation CoViD-19, March 2020: BORDER GUARDS

New War on Drugs: U.S. BORDER PATROL PROMOTES TRUMP’S WALL!

International, Technology

Vehicle I-D: Suomalaiset Leopardit ja Sisu Pasi ja CV9030 ja MTLB ja 2S1 ja BMP-2 ja AMoS

Video

Despite Finland being an officially ‘non-aligned’ country, it still allows, and even takes part in, NATO wargames on its soil (which borders Russia).

Suomalaiset Leopardit ja Sisu Pasi ja CV9030 ja MTLB ja 2S1 ja BMP-2 ja AMoS=Finnish Leopard and Sisu Pasi and CV9030 and MTLB and 2S1 and BMP-2 and AMoS.

U.S. Marines and U.K. Royal Marines watch a demonstration of the Leopard bridgelayer, 07MAY2019. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Scott Jenkins.

Finnish German-made Leopard 2L bridge laying tank, demonstrating for U.S. Marines, and U.K. Royal Marines, during NATO’s Exercise Arrow in May 2019.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Scott Jenkins, 07MAY2019.

It is a German Leopard 2 chassis with a Finnish designed bridge system. Puolustusvoimat / Finnish Defense Forces photo.

USMC LAVs try out the Finnish bridge. USMC photo by Lance Corporal Scott Jenkins, 07MAY2019.

BMP-2MD on the Pojankangas Training Area near Kankaanpaa, Finland, 15MAY2019. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant LaShic Patterson.

Soviet era BMP-2, modernized to BMP-2MD.  NATO’s Arrow 19.

BMP-2MD on the Pojankangas Training Area near Kankaanpaa, Finland, 15MAY2019. USA photo by Sergeant LaShic Patterson.

BMP-2MD on the Pojankangas Training Area near Kankaanpaa, Finland, 15MAY2019. USA photo by Sergeant LaShic Patterson.

USA photo by Sergeant LaShic Patterson, 17MAY2019.

Supposedly neutral Finland also takes part in NATO wargames in other countries.

Älvdalen training grounds, Sweden, 27OCT2018. Puolustusvoimat / Finnish Defense Forces photo by Sergeant Alec Orko.

Washing a Sisu/Patria (Sisu was a Cold War era name for the company now called Patria) Pasi XA-203 prior to the short road-march to neighboring Norway for NATO’s Trident Juncture, October 2018.

Washing off the Sweden, before heading to Norway. Puolustusvoimat / Finnish Defense Forces photo by Sergeant Alec Orko, 27OCT2018.

Video, painting your Patria Pasi for Winter ops, 2018:

Puolustusvoimat / Finnish Defense Forces photo by Ville Multanen, 29OCT2018.

Going skiing.  A Patria Pasi during NATO’s Trident Juncture, October 2018.

Finnish MTLBs during Arrow 18, in Pohjankangas Training Area, Finland, 18MAY2018. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sergeant Averi Coppa.

Soviet era MTLBs during Arrow 18, May 2018.

CV90-30FIN

Video of Swedish made CV9030 FIN, during NATO’s Saber Strike 2017 in Estonia:

USA photo by Specialist Elliott Banks, 06MAY2017.

Leopard 2A4, NATO’s Arrow 17 wargames, May 2017.

Puolustusvoimat / Finnish Defense Forces photo.

Soviet era 2S1 self propelled artillery gun, the Finns call it the 122 PSH 74.  They are former East German 2S1s, purchased in 1992 and 1994.

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Elliott Banks, 05MAY2017.

122 PSH 74 (2S1), NATO’s Arrow 17 wargames, May 2017.

Slow-mo video, German-made Leopard 2A4s, one with Israeli made mine-plow, Niinisalo Training Area in 2016:

Photo by Sergeant Tatum Vayavananda, 11JUN2015.

Sisu Pasi, carrying British troops, ‘invades’ Sweden during NATO’s BALTOPS during Summer 2015.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Armando A. Schwier-Morales, 08JUN2015.

Twin barreled 120mm gunned AMoS (Advanced Mortar System) ‘invades’ Latvia during NATO’s Saber Strike during Summer 2015.

Ukraine Crisis: February 2014 (NATO backed coup) to present.

Vehicle I-D: GEORGIAN T-72 & BMP

HOW TO BUILD A 1:1 SCALE U.S. ARMY ‘FAKE NEWS’ BMP-2

IDAHO’S 1:1 SCALE FAKE NEWS RUSSIAN RADAR TANK

Soviet era tanks in use by NATO: POLAND

Soviet era tanks in use by NATO: BULGARIAN T-72

Soviet era tanks in use by NATO: SLOVENIAN M84

Vehicle I-D: UKRAINIAN ARMOR

Technology

World War Two, Cold War & Beyond: The many lives of LST-786

Image

Clicking/tapping on the pics make them bigger.

Landing Ship Tank (LST) 786 was born in 1944, in Pennsylvania, and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard to support actions against Imperial Japan, in the Pacific Ocean during World War Two.

This is just one of thousands of pages of LST-786’s War Dairy stored in the National Archives.   LST-786 was part of the LST-542 class of landing ships.

LST-786 was decommissioned and placed in reserve in 1946, Columbia River Group, Oregon.  In 1955, LST-786 was named USS Garrett County (Maryland).

Recommissioning acceptance trials, San Francisco, California.  LST-786 was recommissioned in 1966, for action in Viet Nam.  Garrett County was one of four World War Two LSTs recommissioned for action as riverine mother ships.

Now Patrol Craft Tender AGP-786 at Guam, on its way to Viet Nam.  Garrett County arrived on-station in March 1967.

On the Co Chien River, Viet Nam, in June 1968.  Serving as a Patrol Boat River(PBR)/Seawolf (USN Huey gunship) mother ship, officially known as a Game Warden ship.

AGP-786 on the Mekong Delta, Viet Nam, Autumn 1968

UH-1B Seawolf (Huey gunship) on the deck of AGP-786, Mekong Delta, 1969.

Despite that supposedly/officially LST-786 became AGP-786 for the Viet Nam conflict, this log book title page shows the USS Garrett County was still being referred to as LST-786 in April 1969.

In 1971, AGP-786 was given to the Republic of Viet Nam (South Viet Nam) and became Republic of Viet Nam Ship (RVNS) HQ-801 Can Tho.

In 1975, South Viet Nam was overrun by North Viet Nam.  The crew of HQ-801 fled to Philippines, where the old ship became Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Kalinga Apayao LT-516.

LT-516 seen at A.G.& P. Shipyard, Bauan, Batangas, in 1988.

A photo taken in 2006 (posted on Shipspotting.com).   It was decommissioned in 2010 and supposedly scrapped in 2012.  However, the List of decommissioned ships of the Philippine Navy says 516 was“partially beached at Naval Base Cavite”.

There are photos taken in 2011 showing the ship, listing, at Naval Station Sangley Point, aka Naval Base Cavite. 

Operation CoViD-19: USN QUARANTINE SHIPS

LHD-6 USS Bonhomme Richard: INTO THE STEEL INFERNO!

U.S. NAVY KEEPS OLD U.S. ARMY BOAT-TRUCK AFLOAT

Climate Change: GHOST SHIPS WASHING ASHORE ON SECLUDED NAVY BASE!

Business/Economics, Technology

Winglets, or Once again NASA saves the Private Sector!

Video

In another fine example that the capitalist country of United States spends taxpayer money to help-out private sector corporations; between 1979 and 1980, NASA used a KC-135 to special-test the use of winglets in reducing drag and thus reducing fuel consumption.  The study led to the use of winglets on commercial aircraft.

The winglets were developed by NASA’s Richard Whitcomb, who discovered through wind-tunnel testing that winglets could actually produce forward thrust.  Whitcomb is also credited with developing the supercritical wing, also used by commercial airliners (F-8 SUPER-CRITICAL-CRUSADER, FATHER OF MODERN AIRLINER WING DESIGN).

Silent NASA video:

The winglets used by NASA were much bigger than the winglets being used by the commercial sector.

The U.S. Air Force’s -135 family of aircraft are not modified Boeing 707s!!!   It’s amazing to me that even aviation periodicals will refer to the -135 as having evolved from the 707.  Both the -135 and the 707 evolved from the earlier prototype 367-80 (first flight 1954), the -135 (first flight 1956) was actually created before the 707 (first flight 1957).  The -135, also known as the Boeing 717, is smaller than the 707 and structurally there is nothing similar about the two aircraft (like the fuselages having totally different cross sections, the 707 being taller and wider), the major components cannot be interchanged.

Some confusion can be blamed on Boeing itself, as the manufacturer offered militarized 707s to other countries’ air forces, such as Iran (which got both 707s and 747s converted for use as airborne fuelers).  Boeing’s militarized 707 production continued into the 1990s, they are nothing like the -135.

 

KC-135:   BATS & BEARS, OH MY!

Bare Metal: NASA TRUCKS saving the trucking industry

Technology

Vehicle I-D: NASA’s DC-8 climate warrior

Video

The former Douglas airliner is a -72 model, and can stay airborne for 12 hours and has an operational speed between 3-hundred and 5-hundred knots (345-575mph, 555-926kph).

The research flights are made as low as 5-hundred feet (152 meters) and as high as 42-thousand feet (12-thousand-801 meters or 12.80 kilometers).

DC-8-72 on the ground in Chile after an 11 hours flight to study ocean ice, October 2009.

The information that came with this pic stated the DC-8 was being used to test alternative fuels in California, January 2009.

The DC-8-72 uses a plethora of electronic equipment for remote sensing scientific studies in archeology, ecology, geography, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, volcanology, atmospheric chemistry, soil science and biology.  The name of the organization/university conducting the study is sometimes painted on the forward section of the fuselage, underneath the Dryden Flight Research Center name.

Preparations for Operation Ice Bridge, Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, California, late 2009.  The cart full of computers is part of a Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor, waiting to be installed on the DC-8.

Inside the DC-8 Airborne Laboratory, being configured for Operation Ice Bridge, 2009.

DC-8 on approach to Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, November 2008.

From November 1999 to March 2000, the DC-8-72 joined a NASA U-2 (aka ER-2) for SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE), in Sweden.

In 2019, IDAHO, KANSAS, UTAH were HOME BASES FOR NASA’S DC-8 FIREX-AQ! (also has videos of climate sniffing ops over Germany and Korea)

For more info visit NASA’s official DC-8 website

NASA ‘CLIMATE SPY PLANE’ PROVES CALIFORNIA’S STRICT ANTI-POLLUTION LAWS ARE A JOKE!

Kit Bashing, Technology

KC-135: Bats & Bears, oh my!

Video

Iowa Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing’s 75th Anniversary colors, 22DEC2020. Photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot.

After more than six decades the KC-135 Stratotanker flies on, and by the end of 2020 some even got new clothes for 2021.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 22DEC2020.

Iowa’s bat tail was first used on F-16s in the 1990s.  Iowa’s bat logo was first used over Viet Nam in the 1960s, to represent the unit’s night operations.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 01MAR2022.

The nose of the KC-135 has a diamond surrounded by silhouettes depicting the type of aircraft flown by the Iowa unit since 1946.  The 185th switched from single seat aircraft to the KC-135 in 2003.

Video of Sioux City Bat tanker by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 22DEC2020:

Alaska Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Julie Avey, 15OCT2020.

In October 2020, Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Wing revealed a new polar bear logo on their KC-135s.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Kaylee Dubois, 18DEC2020.

The tail flash at the top of each Stratotanker’s vertical tail will bear the name of one of nine interior tribal/native communities.  The final two will bear the name Fairbanks and North Pole.

Alaska Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Julie Avey, 17DEC2020.

Dramatic music video unveiling (by Technical Sergeant William A Keele) of Alaska’s polar bear tail KC-135, 15OCT2020:

Alaska Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Julie Avey, 17DEC2020.

Here’s a New Jersey Air National Guard KC-135R from May 2020 covid-19 flyover ops:

New Jersey Air National Guard Photo by Staff Sergeant Cristina J. Allen, 12MAY2020.

KC-135: Pandemic Overflight

Rivet Joint-Airseeker: RC-135V/W PATRIOT & RED COAT

Bare Metal: KC-135R GETS STRIPPED

2019: KC-135 CITY OF DERBY

International, Kit Bashing, Technology, U.S.

Rivet Joint-Airseeker: RC-135V/W Patriot & Red Coat

Video

RC-135 Rivet Joint , Las Vegas, Nevada, 07DEC2021. U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis.

Kadena Air Base, Japan, 12MAY2020. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Benjamin Sutton.

Personnel wearing masks board RC-135V at Kadena Air Base, Japan, 05MAY2020. USAF photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell.

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, 21FEB2020. USAF photo by Manuel Garcia.

The Boeing RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft are the most recent members of the RC-135 family, which can be traced back to 1964.  The difference between the ‘V’ and ‘W’ variants depends upon which C-135 was upgraded/modified to Rivet Joint standard; RC-135Vs are upgraded RC-135Cs, while RC-135Ws are modified C-135Bs.

USAF photo by Manuel Garcia, 21FEB2020.

It provides near-real-time on-scene intelligence collection, primarily by detecting, identifying and geolocating signals throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.

Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, 28JUL2017. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Amy Lovgren.

Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, 28JUL2017. Photo by Technical Sergeant Amy Lovgren.

It can carry a crew of more than 30 people, and is powered by four CFM-56 turbofans.

Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, 27JUL2017. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Amy Lovgren.

Currently, U.S. Air Force Rivet Joints are flown by the 55th Wing, based out of Offutt Air Force Base (AFB), Nebraska.

Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 13MAR2012. USAF photo by Jeffrey Gates.

Time lapse video by Senior Airman Jacob Skovo-Lane, How to Wash your Rivet Joint, October 2018:

Video by Senior Airman Joshua Hoskins, Michigan Air National Guard re-fuels Rivet Joint over Afghanistan, January 2017:

Offutt AFB, 13MAR2012. USAF photo by Jeffrey Gates.

Over Afghanistan, 19JUN2011. USAF photo by Master Sergeant William Greer.

Over Afghanistan, 19JUN2011. USAF photo by Master Sergeant William Greer.

Over Afghanistan, 19JUN2011. USAF photo by Master Sergeant William Greer.

In August 2010, the USAF celebrated 20 years of Rivet Joint operations, with aircraft that are as much as 50 years old:

During the pandemic of 2020, believe it or not a mask was created for the nose of the RC-135.  It is nicknamed The Mule Mask.  Video interview of mask creator Technical Sergeant Kristen Horwith by Staff Sergeant Lexie West, 11AUG2020:

Video by (then) Senior Airmen Lexie West, USAF RC-135 at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom, November 2017:

RAF RC-135W Airseeker, Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 02MAY2018. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jacob Skovo-Lane.

RAF RC-135W Airseeker, Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 02MAY2018. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jacob Skovo-Lane.

For the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly British Commonwealth of Nations, formerly British Empire) member United Kingdom, in 2011 the RC-135W was chosen as the replacement for the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) BAe Nimrod R Mark 1.    In November 2013 the RAF received it’s first RC-135W, flying it’s first mission in May 2014.  The official British name for the RC-135W is Airseeker.

12FEB2017, Airseeker undergoing landing gear inspection, Offutt AFB. USAF photo by Delanie Stafford.

12FEB2017, Airseeker undergoing landing gear inspection, Offutt AFB. USAF photo by Delanie Stafford.

While taking part in Red Flag aerial wargames in February 2017, over Nevada, the RAF Airseeker developed main-landing gear problems and diverted to Offutt AFB in Nebraska.

12FEB2017, Airseeker undergoing landing gear inspection, Offutt AFB. USAF photo by Delanie Stafford.

It was determined that the Airseeker had a faulty main-landing gear sequence valve, which was preventing the gear from locking in the retracted position.

RAF Airseeker, Red Flag wargames, Nevada, 2017. Photo by Sergeant Neil Bryden.

Giant model of an RC-135, Lackland AFB, Texas. Photo by by Nadine Wiley De Moura.

The ancient Nova vacformed 1:72 scale KC-135 came with optional parts which you could use to make an RC version (but it has the older engines since it came out before the CFM-56 version, you could kit-bash using a newer CFM equipped AMT-ERTL KC-135R kit, which was also issued under the Airfix/Heller brands).

In the 1990s AMT-ERTL issued a 1:72 scale RC-135V, the version used during Desert Storm.   Some kit bashers used the kit to model a RC-135W Airseeker. 

An old photo of an RC-135, by Forrest Durham.

If you are a model builder, pay attention to the year of operation of the RC-135V/W you want to depict, because various antennae bumps and blades will appear and disappear depending on the latest electronic mission configuration.   It seems the older the plane gets the more skin growths it develops.

Somewhere in The middle East (South West Asia), 04MAR2010. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Michelle Larche.

Refueling during the invasion of Iraq. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Ahlschwede, 09APR2003.

Over Nebraska, 01MAY2000. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Nolan.

01MAY2000, USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Nolan.

Don’t forget the bottom.

Departing from a forward operating base during the invasion of Iraq. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Robert J. Horstman, 28APR2003.

11DEC1991, USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Scott P. Stewart.

Don’t confuse with the RC-135S Cobra Ball:

Not all RC-135S are covered in bumps and antennae. USAF photo by Senior Airman Amy Younger, 23MAY2020.

Variations of bumps and windows on RC-135S. Notice that the upper part of starboard wing, as well as nacelles, on some Cobra Balls are painted matt-black. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jeremy Smith, September 2001.

C-130: ONCE A RED COAT, NOW A BLUE ANGEL

Pandemic Overflight: KC-135

EC-135E FIRE-BIRD: 10329 COMES BACK TO LIFE, AGAIN! OR, WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR EXTRA KC-135 KIT.

Vehicle I-D: MLRS, BRITISH RED COATS INVADE U.S. ARMY BASE IN GERMANY!

2018: M777 artillery proof the Red Coats have returned!

2017: U.S. ARMY COMMANDED BY RED COATS?

Canadian Red Coats control U.S. NORAD: SHHH, DON’T “CROSSTELL”, BUT U.S. AIR MILITIA UNITS & CANADA PREPPING FOR TFR EMERGENCY!