Current as of January 05, 2026
Mission
The RC-135U Combat Sent provides precision scientific and technical electronic reconnaissance information to the president, secretary of defense, Department of Defense leaders and theater commanders. Locating and identifying foreign military land, naval and airborne radar signals, the Combat Sent collects and minutely examines each system, providing strategic analysis for warfighters. Collected data is also stored for further analysis by the joint warfighting and intelligence communities. The Combat Sent deploys worldwide and is employed in peacetime and contingency operations.
Features
All RC-135U aircraft are equipped with an aerial refueling system, giving them unlimited flying range when operating with an augmented crew. Communication equipment includes high-frequency, very-high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency radios. The navigation equipment incorporates ground navigation radar and an inertial navigation system that merges celestial observations and Global Positioning System (GPS) data. Although the flight crew stations are similarly configured, the reconnaissance equipment is slightly unique within each airframe. The aircraft are identified by their distinctive antennae arrays on the "chin," wing tips and extended tail.
A typical crew composition includes two pilots, one navigator, three airborne systems engineers, a minimum of eight electronic warfare officers (EWOs) and six or more mission area specialists. All Combat Sent airframe and mission systems modifications are overseen by L3Harris Technologies under the oversight of the 645th Aeronautical Systems Group (Big Safari), Air Force Materiel Command.
BACKGROUND
There are only two Combat Sent aircraft in the Air Force inventory, and both are assigned to Air Combat Command's 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The RC-135U aircraft are operated by crews from the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron and the 97th Intelligence Squadron. The Combat Sent employs a diverse suite of precision collection equipment. Its current configuration is comprised of both manual and automatic systems and enables EWOs to simultaneously locate, identify and collect multiple signals of interest.
The precision data that Combat Sent collects is used to populate national databases and for extensive analysis by electronic systems theorists. Any information garnered from the data will help determine detailed operating characteristics and capabilities of foreign systems. Evasion techniques and equipment are then developed from this knowledge to detect, warn of or defeat these electronic systems.