The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed that Royal Australian Air Force crews, together with their Royal Air Force and United States Air Force counterparts, have recently carried out a mission aboard a US Boeing RC-135W ‘Rivet Joint’ Signals Intelligence (SIGINT).
Flown in November, the mission was part of Exercise Resolute Hunter 22-1 (RH22-1) conducted in the US between 27 October and 19 November and involved an RC-135W from the US Air Force’s 55th Reconnaissance Wing, based at Offutt Air Force Base in Alaska. Based on the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, the Rivet Joint aircraft are modified with highly classified mission equipment.
The RAF and USAF are operators of the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft and routinely use them to eavesdrop on other countries from international airspace. It is however, the first publicly recorded instance of an Australian crew participating in a highly classified RC-135V/W mission.
Exercise Resolute Hunter is a relatively new joint service exercise sponsored by the USAF’s Air Combat Command and US Navy Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Centre (NAWDC) at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada.
“The exercise sortie was designed to promote joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) interoperability between the three air forces,” the UK MoD said. “This first ever mission also highlights the expanding manned ISR partnership between the three allied nations as the three services develop common insights and operational tactics.”
In response to ADM’s questions, a Defence spokesperson said both RAAF assets and personnel participated in the exercise, hosted by NAWCD’s Maritime ISR (MISR) Weapons School.
“Participating personnel were engaged in highly complex mission scenarios as part of the Tier 1 exercise, with RH22-1 being the first time RAAF assets have deployed for the activity,” the spokesperson said. “As part of the exercise, RAAF personnel joined with RAF and USAF personnel on-board a USAF RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft. USAF and RAF personnel also flew on RAAF aircraft.”
Defence said the purpose of RAAF personnel flying on the Rivet Joint aircraft enhances their understanding of coalition technology and mission procedures, contributing to “optimising integration” at operational and tactical levels.
“The experience gained through combined exercises such as RH22-1 ensures that RAAF Aviators also gain invaluable exposure to coalition ISR Electronic Warfare (ISREW) capabilities,” the spokesperson added. “Building a broad understanding of airborne ISREW capabilities is a fundamental aspect of a number of capability projects, including Projects Air 7000 (P-8A Poseidon and MQ-4C Triton), Air 3503 (Distributed Ground Station Australia, DG-AUS), and Air 555 which will see the introduction into ADF service of the MC-55A Peregrine airborne ISREW platform.”