Aircraft
EC-18 ARIA and CMMCA
Eight Boeing 707-320Cs that became the EC-18B ARIA — and the CMMCA cruise-missile control variants
Part of the complete ARIA fleet story — beside the original eight EC-135N/E dossiers, How ARIA Worked, base histories, and the conversion pages under ARIA History.
Summary
In 1981 the Air Force bought eight used American Airlines Boeing 707-320C airliners for about $1.5 million each, intending at first to modify four of them to replace aging EC-135N ARIA jets. Modified at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and redesignated EC-18B, the bigger 707-based ARIA carried more payload and could work shorter runways than the C-135 airframes. Related conversions produced Advanced Cruise Missile Mission Control Aircraft (CMMCA) — including the EC-18D configuration — for cruise-missile flight-test support.
The first of the American Airlines jets converted for ARIA was N7598A, which became 81-0891. Its modification consumed on the order of 300,000 working hours; ARIA equipment was removed from an original EC-135N and installed in the 707. On 4 January 1985, 81-0891 entered the U.S. aircraft inventory as the first EC-18B. Period Air Force accounts on this site place the type’s first ARIA mission in January 1986 out of Kenya.
A 1996 capabilities snapshot preserved on the individual aircraft pages describes the basic EC-18B telemetry role: acquire and track telemetry with a steerable seven-foot antenna; provide worldwide HF voice and real-time UHF satellite data retransmission; and record, monitor, and play back mission data on wideband recorders. Some airframes added scoring / horn-antenna gear or SMILS (Sonobuoy Missile Impact Locating System) optics for MIRV re-entry scoring — with a blackened left wing to cut glare for the cameras.
CMMCA airframes (notably 81-0893 and 81-0895) differed visibly: an elongated radome housed a smaller three-foot dish so the airplane could overtake a cruise missile without hitting the antenna’s angle limit, and an APG-63 radar (the F-15 set) was fitted for missile tracking. An early short radome on 81-0893 caused aerodynamic and transmittance problems; the corrected design arrived in 1994. The APG-63 path was never fully utilized; mission gear was later removed and airplanes moved toward Joint STARS.
In 1994 the ARIA stable — by then including EC-18Bs — relocated to Edwards Air Force Base with the 452d Flight Test Squadron. As the mission dwindled, EC-18s transferred toward Joint STARS and related uses. On this site’s records, 81-0891 flew the last ARIA mission on 24 August 2001 from Ascension Island; by mid-September of that period both EC-18Bs then at Edwards were slated for Joint STARS. 81-0896 later appears as a JSTARS conversion (02-9111); 81-0891 was auctioned for scrap at Lake Charles, Louisiana, in June 2013.
Timeline
- 1981 — Air Force buys eight American Airlines 707-320Cs for ARIA / related roles.
- 12 Feb 1982 — N7598A delivered to the Air Force for ARIA modification (becomes 81-0891).
- 4 Jan 1985 — 81-0891 placed on inventory as the first EC-18B.
- Jan 1986 — EC-18B flies its first published ARIA mission from Kenya.
- 1994 — ARIA fleet, including EC-18Bs, relocates to Edwards AFB; CMMCA radome fix.
- 24 Aug 2001 — 81-0891 flies the last ARIA mission (Ascension Island staging).
- 2001 — Remaining EC-18Bs at Edwards transfer toward Joint STARS.
- Jun 2013 — 81-0891 auctioned for scrap at Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Airframes
| Tail | Role | Status / notes | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 81-0891 | EC-18B ARIA · SMILS | First EC-18B; last ARIA mission 24 Aug 2001; scrap auction Jun 2013 | Aircraft record |
| 81-0892 | EC-18B ARIA · scoring / horn antenna | Basic TLM/scoring configuration (1996 capabilities note) | Aircraft record |
| 81-0893 | EC-18D · Advanced CMMCA | Cruise-missile control; short-radome problems corrected 1994 | Aircraft record |
| 81-0894 | EC-18B · CMMCA / scoring family | Basic TLM/scoring with horn antenna (1996 capabilities note) | Aircraft record |
| 81-0895 | EC-18 · CMMCA (ex N7566A) | Paired with 81-0893 for Advanced CMMCA work | Aircraft record |
| 81-0896 | EC-18B · SMILS/Optics test bed → JSTARS | Later recorded as JSTARS conversion 02-9111 | Aircraft record |
Related on flyARIA
CMMCA overviewEC-18B ConversionEC-18D ConversionFinal TouchdownARIA RetiresEC-18B conversion videoLanding on Ascension IslandCMMC consoleSMILE / OPTICSWright-Patterson AFBEdwards AFBHow ARIA WorkedThe ARIA Fleet
Photos, logbooks, and corrections from crews and families help complete these records. Write to [email protected] — there are no forms on this site.
Compiled from the EC-18 / CMMCA aircraft records, EC-18B and EC-18D history pages, Final Touchdown / ARIA Retires articles, and conversion media captions on this site (Randy L. Losey; Chris Miller credited on CMMCA text; U.S. Air Force credited on conversion video). Capabilities lines are the 1996 notes already published on the individual tail pages.