The WC-135 Constant Phoenix is a special-purpose aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter and used by the United States Air Force. Its mission is to collect samples from the atmosphere for the purpose of detecting and identifying nuclear explosions. It is also informally referred to as the "weather bird" or "the sniffer" by workers on the program and international media respectively. The WC-135 was introduced in December 1965, replacing Boeing WB-50 aircraft in the weather-reconnaissance and air-sampling mission. Ten aircraft were initially converted from C-135B transport aircraft and were placed in service with the 55th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at McClellan Air Force Base, California, with the Military Airlift Command (MAC). Detachments were located at various bases throughout the United States and worldwide. Initially, the aircraft performed both weather reconnaissance and atmospheric sampling missions; however, in February 1974, the Air Force ordered that after 1 July 1974, WC-135s be used for atmospheric sampling missions only, thus ending the aircraft's weather reconnaissance mission. The aircraft occasionally took on other roles throughout their careers; several aircraft were temporarily assigned to the 10th Airborne Command and Control Squadron at RAF Mildenhall in the late 1980s and early 1990s as training aircraft so that the unit could slow the accumulation of flight hours on its EC-135Hs, while others served as staff transports on an as-needed basis. Upon retirement from frontline weather reconnaissance service in the early 1990s, five were retained for further use. Serial no. 61-2666 was converted to an NC-135 and remains in service as a testbed for RC-135 equipment upgrades. Serial no. 61-2667 was upgraded to a WC-135W, given the project name Constant Phoenix, and remains in service with the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Serial no. 61-2674 was converted to the first OC-135B Open Skies observation aircraft, reentering service in 1993. It was later stored in 1997 and replaced with two additional aircraft also converted from WC-135s. In 1998, a former EC-135C, serial no. 62-3582, was converted into a WC-135C, also designated Constant Phoenix. In April 2018 it was announced that three KC-135R tanker aircraft would be converted as WC-135R Constant Phoenix aircraft to replace the two aircraft operated by the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron. The first aircraft was scheduled to be converted by L3 Technologies at Greenville, Texas starting in September 2019. In November 2020, WC-135C, tail number 62-3582, was retired during a ceremony at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. During its 56 year career, it amassed 29,680 flight hours and 72,251 landings. During its retirement ceremony, the 55th Wing chaplain dubbed the aircraft "Lucifer's Chariot", although the aircraft was never referred to by that name during its operational life. In June 2022, the first of three planned WC-135R aircraft (serial number 64-14836) completed its maiden test flight, and was delivered to the 55th Wing on 11 July 2022. The other two were delivered in May 2023 (tail number 64-14831) and December 2023 (tail number 64-14829). The WC-135B, WC-135W, and WC-135R Constant Phoenix atmospheric-collection aircraft support national-level intelligence consumers by collecting particulate debris and gaseous effluents from accessible regions of the atmosphere in support of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963. The information collected by the aircraft is utilized by Detachment 1 of the Air Force Technical Applications Center's 21st Surveillance Squadron. The Constant Phoenix's modifications are primarily related to the aircraft's on-board atmospheric collection suite, which allows the mission crew to detect radioactive debris "clouds" in real time. The aircraft is equipped with external flow-through devices to collect particulates on filter paper and a compressor system for whole air samples collected in high-pressure holding spheres. Despite the different designations, both the C- and W-models carry the same mission equipment (with a front-end avionics suite similar to the RC-135V and W aircraft). The interior seats 33 people, including the cockpit crew, maintenance personnel, and special equipment operators from the Air Force Technical Applications Center. On operational sorties, the crew is minimized to just pilots, navigator, and special-equipment operators, to reduce radiation exposure to mission-essential personnel only.

Variants

• WC-135B - 10 initial aircraft, converted from C-135Bs
• WC-135C - Converted from former Looking Glass EC-135C Tail Number 62-3582, carries the same equipment as WC-135W
• WC-135R - 3 converted KC-135Rs, announced in 2018 and included on the FY19 budget request.[8][14] The first converted aircraft, Tail Number 64-14836, was delivered in July 2022.[15][16]
• WC-135W - Re-designation of WC-135B Tail Number 61-2667 after upgrades and removal of flight engineer crew position in the 1990s..

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