On a review of Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint training with USAF’s 55th Wing, Britain’s ranking air power development officer visited Offutt AFB, Neb. “Seeing the training first-hand leaves me very, very excited” for delivery of Britain’s RC-135 aircraft, said Air Chief Marshal Simon Bryant during his Nov. 28 visit. In preparation, RAF airmen are conducting initial training and joint-manning operations with Offutt’s 55th WG. Since arriving in January, 60 RAF operators have finished training, with some of them flying combat missions with USAF crews over Afghanistan and Libya. “It’s great to have this RC-135 partnership with our best allies,” summed Brig. Gen. Donald Bacon, 55th WG commander. “We’ve learned a lot working with them and so it’s been a mutually beneficial relationship.” RAF RC-135s will replace the Nimrod R.1, retired earlier this year, by late 2013. (Offutt report by Ryan Hansen)
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.