The
Royal Air Force received its
second
RC-135W Rivet Joint—dubbed Airseeker in RAF service—in a hand-over ceremony at
RAF Mildenhall, UK, earlier this month. "The delivery of the second
Airseeker provides our armed forces with another vital intelligence aircraft
that will give valuable support to our fight against enemies such as
ISIL," UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said in an RAF
release. The RAF
purchased a total of three RC-135 intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance aircraft to replace its retired Nimrod R.1 in 2008. The RAF
plans to quickly deploy the second aircraft to support operations over Iraq and
Syria, according to the release. The third and final aircraft is slated for
delivery in 2017, and all three will be based at RAF Waddington alongside the
RAF's E-3D AWACS and Sentinel R.1 ISR platforms. US contractors completed and
delivered the aircraft seven months ahead of schedule on Sept. 4.
