Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint aircrews recently surpassed 1,000 hours of operational flight time and 100 operational sorties with USAF Rivet Joints from the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, Neb. A RAF crew from 51 Squadron reached the milestone on Sept. 24. RAF members have been flying electronic eavesdropping missions over Afghanistan and Libya with the USAF RC-135s since earlier this year. Because the British government retired the RAF’s Nimrod R.1 fleet years ahead of the RAF receiving the first of its three Rivet Joints—slated for 2013—RAF flight crews and intelligence specialists now fly aboard USAF aircraft to maintain proficiency. British aircrew began arriving at Offutt to train on the RC-135 in January. “The tempo on the squadron remains as high paced as ever, we continue to support operations every day,” explained RAF Wing Commander Garry Crosby, 51 Squadron commander. (RAF release)
Boeing Claims Progress on T-7 and Other Challenged Programs
April 25, 2025
Boeing appears to have become to overcome the problems that led to billions in losses on fixed-price defense contracts in recent years, point the company back toward profitabily, says Boeing president and CEO Kelly Ortberg.