UK launches new Rivet Joint flight test programme

[scotty2681]

The conversion of the UK's third Rivet Joint aircraft is to be delayed to conduct a new joint UK-US flight trial programme. Source: UK MoD



A new UK-US flight test programme is being launched to help provide additional data to allow the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) three Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic intelligence gathering aircraft to receive their full flight safety certification.

Details of the new programme were announced on 8 September by UK Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), which hopes the tests will allow the RAF Rivet Joints to achieve a full release to service (RTS) clearance.

The RAF Rivet Joints are conversions from US Air Force (USAF) KC-135 tankers, with the third aircraft having its conversion process delayed for six months to carry out the flight tests from the L-3 Communications site at Greenville, Texas.

The programme should "enable some aspects of the aircraft's flight envelope to be validated", said DE&S. "This will augment the limited availability of detailed historical flight test information and enable a full release-to-service clearance of the USAF flight envelope to be considered. The aircraft will then begin its 30-month conversion programme next January with delivery scheduled in 2017."

A lack of aircraft documentation was identified by the UK Military Aviation Authority as a factor in the organisation's delay in granting an initial interim RTS to allow the UK's first RC-135 to begin flight operations from RAF Waddington earlier in 2014.

The trial KC-135 is also being instrumented to support a flight test programme planned by the US Air Force to collect detailed flight performance information that will be used to improve the fidelity of their RC-135 dynamic simulators, and so reduce the dependence on live flying: with commensurate reductions in cost and benefits for the environment. According to DE&S, its US counterpart - the Big Safari office - has allocated a USAF RC-135W aircraft that has just completed its four-year periodic depot maintenance to undertake six months of flight testing, including air-to-air refuelling by the UK KC-135 tanker during the initial stage of the flight test programme.

Conversion of the UK's second Rivet Joint aircraft - tail number ZZ665 - "is coming along in leaps and bounds", said DE&S. "All structural work has been completed and installation of the near 100 miles of new wiring is progressing ahead of schedule." The second aircraft is expected to be rolled out in December, with ground testing beginning in January 2015, followed by flight tests and delivery to the UK in mid-2015, said DE&S.

For the first time DE&S revealed details of the communications and analysis infrastructure being developed to the support the UK's RC-135. "To deliver the full [Rivet Joint] capability the data collected by the aircraft's sensors must be rapidly analysed and outputs provided to an extensive customer community," said DE&S. "Without this ground capability the value of the aircraft is much reduced so an extensive range of ground exploitation equipment has been installed in two UK locations for analysis and dissemination of information collected."

[Vulcanone]

rj.mad

Tis still a KC-135 so that's what they are referring too


Tim S

[Ghastly Whisper]

Is that a long winded way of saying its a pile of crap?

[Vulcanone]

Hardly a case of it being a pile of crap GW

More a case of its an old airframe that nobody (presumably) has no longer got its paperwork to say what they have done with it since new (as a KC-135) Not much apart from cockpit and new engines??.

Which the MAA decided is a stick in the Mud.

However they do work as the USAF can no doubt tell you!!

TS

[Bushpilot]

If they've got 10 miles of wiring to do why didn't they use the A330 airframe with more space and servicing commonality with the MRTT fleet? They'd have lasted longer , not needed structural checks and had room for upgrades.

[Vulcanone]

As far as I'm aware it was a rather expensive option buying a brand new airframe and turning it into an RC style airframe.

And as for Voyagers lets hope they prove the PFI deal works......


TS

[Kodakman]

The third RAF RC-135 ZZ666 is ex 64-14830, served as a KC-135R with the 100th ARW at Mildenhall until July 2014. The aircraft initially flew to Tinker AFB. Soon afterwards was repositioned to Greenville to enable the tests to commence. The KC-135 is technically "owned" by the UK, although it has yet to start conversion, and is flying regular test sorties using the L3 call signs Same 40 and Same 50.

Interestingly, ZZ664 flew to the Middle East in July 2014, and flew missions supporting the RAF Tornado's against ISIS terrorists. ZZ664 returned to the UK (Mildenhall as Waddington was closed) at the end of December 2014. After 5 and a half months of operations, the aircraft is now undergoing maintenance and servicing.

The second RJ, ZZ665, will be delivered to Midlenhall, although Waddo should have reopened by the time the third exampls is ready. With more than a year being taken apart, refurbished and rebuilt incorporating all the SIGINT equipment, the aircraft are like new. Furthermore these are almost identical to the USAF versions, enabling interoperability. Just for once, common sense has prevailed, with a system in service which will probably serve for the next three decades.

Bob A

[page_verify]

Hi Bob, thanks for your update. For those not following their deliveries into the RAF, your last couple of sentences sadly summarise the challenges ahead.

The RC-135s in service with the USAF don't meet their safety standards, nor is there an auditable design from a design authority that can show how they could meet current UK safety expectations.
However, the US are happy to sign off design waivers on the basis they've been without significant incident for over 50 years so must be safe enough.
Unfortunately, a similar approach by the British was found to have been cause of 14 good men being killed when their Nimrod was destroyed in mid-air in 2006.
The subsequent review found UK military aviation safety for the previous 20 years was deeply flawed and an accident like that was inevitable.

As the media is starting to hint at, having ordered three known to be old aircraft before the subsequent tightening of UK aviation safety now leaves a lot of head scratching to be done!

[Agent K]

If they've got 10 miles of wiring to do why didn't they use the A330 airframe with more space and servicing commonality with the MRTT fleet? They'd have lasted longer , not needed structural checks and had room for upgrades.

I wonder why all the brains and experts in the British military didn't think of that one? I truly believe if we got rid of all that wealth of experience and had FC posters run the military it would be so much better.....

Oh hang on what about the effect of the electromagnetic emissions on the fly by wire, FADEC engine controls, antenna position, wiring, overall design.... Cheaper, I think not....

[Supra]

A well used saying by my ex. 'Old Sea Hag' neighbour...."If it's got wheels or bo**ocks it'll give you trouble!" Now brought bang up-to-date with the inclusion of any aircraft containing the "35" digits in it's Type reference???

[thorny1a]

A very long winded process by the sound of it, however if it avoids another tragedy on the scale of the 2006 Nimrod crash then so be it.