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Support aircraftIn service
Reconnaissance aircraft
Boeing RC-135 is a reconnaissance aircraft. The cited manufacturer or builder is Boeing (airframe) L3Harris Technologies.
United StatesBoeing RC-135
U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · ModifiedReconnaissance aircraft
Boeing (airframe) L3Harris Technologies
In service
United States Air Force Royal Air Force
32 total airframes across all iterations
1961
Boeing C-135 Stratolifter
2 pilots, 2 navigator (flight crew)
21–27 depending on mission requirements, minimum consisting of 4 Electronic Warfare Officers (Ravens), 14 Intelligence Operators and 4 Airborne Systems Engineers (mission crew)
136 ft 3 in (41.53 m)
130 ft 10 in (39.88 m)
41 ft 8 in (12.70 m)
2,433 sq ft (226.0 m 2 )
124,000 lb (56,245 kg)
297,000 lb (134,717 kg)
322,500 lb (146,284 kg)
4 × CFM International F-108-CF-201 turbofan engines, 22,000 lbf (98 kN) thrust each
504 kn (580 mph, 933 km/h)
2,998 nmi (3,450 mi, 5,552 km)
50,000 ft (15,000 m)
4,900 ft/min (25 m/s)
root: BAC 310/311/312; tip: BAC 313
Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint United States Jet SIGINT 2013 3 3 Formally known as Airseeker.
Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
True scale
Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.
Points represent sourced observations, including revisions. Revisions on the same effective date are not separate inventory events. Ranges appear in the table and are not plotted as exact points.
| Observation / report period | Value | Source | Claim state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sept 2026 | 41.53 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 41.53 m | Wikipedia contributors | approved |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 41.53 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 41.53 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 41.53 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
| 28 Sept 2026 | 41.53 m | Wikipedia contributors | superseded |
Boeing RC-135 equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.
United KingdomTotal reported holdings of the named fixed-wing or uncrewed platform, across reported variants. Includes aircraft outside the in-service fleet; not an active-only or readiness count. Platforms included: Airseeker.
Reported count for Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint. Service scope: Royal Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct quantity component(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Explicit source inventory scope: active; no other stock status or total inferred. Count column(s): in service: 3. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. Cited source 2025-10-30. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.
United StatesUS Air Force (USAF) exact named equipment holdings: RC-135S Cobra Ball; RC-135U Combat Sent. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / ELINT. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
Reported count for TC-135S/W / RC-135S/U/V/W Cobra Ball/Combat Sent/Rivet Joint. Service scope: Air Force; does not replace a national total. 2 distinct count cell(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Retired, wholly reserve and on-order rows are excluded; the reported count retains any explicitly mixed stock scope in the quoted row. Count column(s): inventory: 3 / inventory: 25. Origin: USA. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2025), not the article revision. Cited source 2025-06-20. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.