Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft
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| Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft | |
|---|---|
 |
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| EC-135E nicknamed "Bird of Prey" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force | |
| Type | Tracking and Telemetry Platform |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Retired | 2000 |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
The Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft are modified C-135 Stratolifter cargo aircraft and EC-18B (former American Airlines Boeing 707-320) passenger aircraft that provided tracking and telemetry information to support the US space program in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
During the early 1960s, NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) needed a very mobile tracking and telemetry platform to support the Apollo space program and other unmanned space flight operations. In a joint project, NASA and the DoD contracted with the McDonnell Douglas and the Bendix Corporations to modify eight Boeing C-135 Stratolifter cargo aircraft into Apollo / Range Instrumentation Aircraft (A/RIA). Equipped with a steerable seven-foot antenna dish in its distinctive "Droop Snoot" or "Snoopy Nose," the EC-135N A/RIA became operational in January 1968, and was often known as the Jimmy Durante of the Air Force. The Air Force Eastern Test Range at Patrick AFB, Florida, maintained and operated the A/RIA until the end of the Apollo program in 1972, when the USAF renamed it the Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA).
Transferred to the 4950th Test Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, in December 1975 as part of an overall consolidation of large test and evaluation aircraft, the ARIA fleet underwent numerous conversions - including a re-engining that changed the EC-135N to the EC-135E. In 1994, the ARIA fleet relocated to Edwards AFB, California, as part of the 412th Test Wing. However, taskings for the ARIA dwindled because of high costs and improved satellite technology, and the USAF transferred the aircraft to other programs such as J-STARS.
On 3 November 2000, a flight crew from the Air Force Flight Test Center delivered the last EC-135E, (serial number 60-374 - nicknamed "The Bird of Prey"), with full Prime Mission Electronic Equipment (PMEE), to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio. Over its thirty-two year career, the ARIA supported the United States space program, gathered telemetry, verified international treaties, and supported cruise missile, ballistic missile defense tests, and the Space Shuttle.
[edit] References
This articles uses public domain text from the National Museum of the United States Air Force. http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/outdoor/od30.htm
