US Air Force gets nuke-sniffing plane
NEWSAVIATIONPRESS RELEASES
By
Colton Jones
May 19, 2023
The U.S. Air Force has announced that team Offutt officially welcomed its second WC-135R Constant Phoenix aircraft to its fleet as tail number 64-14831 arrived May 11, 2023.
The WC-135R is a special-purpose aircraft designed to carry out operations that consist of collecting air samples to screen for the presence of notable nuclear materials. It is also informally referred to as the “weather bird” or “the sniffer” by workers on the program and international media respectively.
The Air Force said in a release that the first WC-135R, tail number 64-14836, was delivered in July. This is the second of three the 55th Wing will receive as the Air Force modifies KC-135R Stratotankers to replace the now retired WC-135C/W fleet.
“We’re really pleased about what 836 has provided to us and very excited now to have a second jet,” said Lt. Col. Chris Crouch, 45th Reconnaissance Squadron commander. “831 adds capability and eases our decision-making burden as far as balancing operations and training.”
https://defence-blog.com/us-air-force-gets-nuke-sniffing-plane/
