Manned Reconnaissance Systems

Manned Reconnaissance Systems, Program Element (PE) 0305207F, funds development and enhancement of the Air Force's RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and their specialized air and ground mission systems. It is funded through the Research, Development, Test & Evaluation, Air Force appropriation under Budget Activity 7, Operational Systems Development, which covers upgrades to fielded systems. Its sole project, RC-135 Systems (674754), supports engineering studies, non-recurring engineering, integration, testing, and modifications rather than the purchase of new aircraft.

The 645th Aeronautical Systems Group (645 AESG), also known as BIG SAFARI, manages the work across aircraft, sensors, ground equipment, logistics, and training. It oversees engineering, modifications, flight and acceptance testing, and product assurance. The program also funds studies, requirements definition, and quick-reaction prototypes to assess military utility and prepare technologies for insertion into future configurations. Commercial-off-the-shelf solutions can speed fielding while helping address diminishing manufacturing sources and vanishing vendor items that threaten fleet supportability.

The acquisition approach uses incremental "baseline" upgrades to keep pace with technologically agile targets and a changing electromagnetic environment. Aircraft and mission-system work is coordinated with programmed depot maintenance, allowing improvements to be integrated into fleet schedules. BIG SAFARI can acquire technology upgrades and Quick Reaction Capabilities under its program management directive and applicable justifications for other-than-full-and-open competition. The acquisition program manager may redirect funding to meet emerging Combatant Command or Intelligence Community requirements.

RIVET JOINT RC-135V/W work spans Baselines 13 through 15 in the fiscal year (FY) 2027 engineering plan, while the planned-program description also identifies non-recurring engineering for Baseline 16. Baseline 14 improvements include StarShield beyond-line-of-sight connectivity, continuous recording, a high-probability-of-intercept receiver, the Corvus Digital Receiver, and air-traffic-management avionics such as a new autopilot, ADS-B, and Mode 5 identification. Baseline 15 adds scalable processing, the Wideband Agile Receiver and Pulse Detector, expanded steered-beam capability, remote-maintenance improvements, and a more sensitive receiver for low-probability-of-intercept targets. Baseline 15 integration, test, and fielding is scheduled to continue beyond FY 2027, alongside Baseline 16 development.

COMBAT SENT RC-135U development covers Baseline 6 and initial Baseline 15 enhancements. Planned capabilities include steerable beams for communications intelligence, improved search through jamming, high-probability-of-intercept performance, and specific-emitter identification for electronic intelligence. Work also combines the Primary Sensor Measurement System with manual precision collection, adds millimeter-wave and low-band capabilities, digitizes antennas, and improves high-frequency direction finding, streaming audio, and aircraft tracking. Future baselines adopt RIVET JOINT numbering to exploit common technical manuals, training systems, contracts, and security certifications; Baseline 15 integration, test, and fielding runs from late FY 2026 into FY 2028.

COBRA BALL RC-135S work includes Baselines 7, 14, and 15 in the FY 2027 engineering plan, with Baseline 16 non-recurring engineering identified in planned programs. Baseline 14 enhancements include measurement-and-signature-intelligence collection software, a steerable K-band antenna, high-band direction finding, improved signal identification, a digitized Cerberus collection antenna, and greater timing accuracy. Baseline 15 adds collection-system machine-learning algorithms, MapLarge integration, and a high-band direction-finding spinner. Baseline 15 integration and fielding extends into FY 2028, when Baseline 16 development is scheduled to conclude.

Ground Systems upgrades reproduce corresponding RIVET JOINT baseline capabilities so crews train on the configurations they will operate. The systems include Mission Crew Training Systems, Operational Flight Trainers, Ground Data Processing Systems, Modular Processing Systems, and Airborne Capabilities Extension Systems; the program description also identifies Distributed Mission Shelters. Training-system changes are typically introduced before processing-system updates and are planned to arrive no later than, or slightly before, the first upgraded aircraft. Ground Systems Baseline 15 development, integration, test, and fielding is scheduled through the third quarter of FY 2027.

For FY 2027, the Air Force plans to initiate contracts that continue engineering analysis, non-recurring engineering, integration and modification of RC-135 primary mission equipment, and specialized systems development for collecting air and ground signals. The development effort is performed through L3Harris Technologies in Greenville, Texas, within overlapping contracts tied to depot-maintenance schedules. Related funding lines separately support RC-135 aircraft procurement, initial spares, operational procurement, and the Airborne SIGINT Enterprise. A FY 2026 congressional addition for Automatic Target Recognition for Mission Autonomy is intended for transfer to a different program element after approval of its spending plan.