A USAF RC-135V/W Rivet Joint disconnects from a USAF KC-10 Extender after receiving fuel near Iraq on Dec. 5, 2016. By Senior Airman Tyler Woodward.
On October 22, an RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance and an E-11A communication relay aircraft of the United States Air Force (USAF) were was spotted by aviation observers while conducting an unusual mission near Syria’s border.
Both aircraft flew off the coast of Syria and Lebanon for several hours. While the E-11A stayed over the Eastern Mediterranean, the RC-135 went on to fly along the Syrian border with Jordan and Iraq. The aircraft were likely spying on the two main Russian bases on the Syrian coast, Hmeimim Air Base and Tartus Naval Base.
currently around Syria
1 x E11 comms node (11-9355)
1 x tanker (57-1439)
1 x RC135W (62-4130) pic.twitter.com/VEXnkCiRdn— avi scharf (@avischarf) October 22, 2022
The RC-135 W is the USAF’s standard airborne SIGINT [Signal Intelligence] platform. The aircraft’s sensor suite allows the mission crew to detect, identify and geolocate signals throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.
From its side, the E-11A carries the USAF’s BACN [Battlefield Airborne Communications Node] airborne communications relay and gateway system. The BACN enables real-time information flow across the battlespace between similar and dissimilar tactical data link and voice systems through relay, bridging, and data translation in line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight situations.
An E-11 Battlefield Airborne Communications Node sits on the flightline at Kandahar Airfield (KAF), Afghanistan, Aug. 1, 2017. By Capt. Keenan Kunst.
The E-11A was apparently relaying information gathered by the RC-135, which patrolled a long strip of Syria’s border, to the USAF command.
The unusual USAF reconnaissance mission came just a day after reports of two cargo flights between Hmeimim Air Base in Syria and Russia. The U.S. is likely trying to figure out what was moved from Russia to Syria, or the other way. Washington has been keeping a very close eye on the Russian military grouping in Syria since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.
