The Air Force’s RC-135 Rivet Joint force now can claim to have been continuously deployed for 6,000 days. Last fall, we noted that one of the airmen who maintain this high demand/low density electronic reconnaissance aircraft has deployed 18 times to Southwest Asia since 1993. Over the years, the Air Force has upgraded the Rivet Joint, giving the 1960s-vintage platform new engines, updated cockpit avionics, and improved mission equipment, which enables the Cold War warrior to switch from strategic to tactical support—talking with warfighters on the ground—on a single sortie.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.