Last E model ARIA retired to Air Force Museum November 9, 2000 By Ray Johnson Public Affairs The      first      of      eight      EC-135N      aircraft      became operationally    in    1968    as    the    program    stood    up    at Patrick AFB, Fla. Seven   years   later,   ARIA,   redesignated   as   Advanced Range     Instrumentation    Aircraft,     transferred     to     the 4950th Test Wing at Wright-Patterson. It    was    there,    from    1987    to    1989,    that    Reynolds commanded    the    4952nd    Test    Squadron,    which    flew ARIA missions to the far corners of the globe. It    was    during    a    trip    to    Barbados    that    Reynolds remembers   his   favorite   mission.   Supporting   a   Trident submarine   test,   the   general   recalls   flying   in   the   middle of   the   Atlantic   Ocean   on   a   moonless   night   when   10 missile   re-entry   vehicles   rained   in   ahead   of   his   aircraft. "It   was   a   spectacular   light   show   —   picture   perfect,"   he said. In   1994,   the   ARIA   stable,   which   now   included   EC-18B aircraft,   relocated   to   Edwards.   Gradually,   the   mission dwindled    with    planes    being    declared    excess    and transferred to other programs such as J-STARS. With   No.   374   now   sitting   at   Wright-Patterson,   only   two active   EC-18B,   which   are   being   used   primarily   by   the Navy for pilot training, represent ARIA’s 30-year history. However,   that   will   change   next   May   when   the   recently returned   EC-135E   will   be   officially   displayed   at   the   Air Force   Museum   during   a   ceremony   that   also   will   honor 21 ARIA crewmembers killed in an 1981 accident. The      first      of      eight      EC-135N      aircraft      became operationally    in    1968    as    the    program    stood    up    at Patrick AFB, Fla. Seven   years   later,   ARIA,   redesignated   as   Advanced Range     Instrumentation    Aircraft,     transferred     to     the 4950th Test Wing at Wright-Patterson. It    was    there,    from    1987    to    1989,    that    Reynolds commanded    the    4952nd    Test    Squadron,    which    flew ARIA missions to the far corners of the globe. It    was    during    a    trip    to    Barbados    that    Reynolds remembers   his   favorite   mission.   Supporting   a   Trident submarine   test,   the   general   recalls   flying   in   the   middle of   the   Atlantic   Ocean   on   a   moonless   night   when   10 missile   re-entry   vehicles   rained   in   ahead   of   his   aircraft. "It   was   a   spectacular   light   show   —   picture   perfect,"   he said. In   1994,   the   ARIA   stable,   which   now   included   EC-18B aircraft,   relocated   to   Edwards.   Gradually,   the   mission dwindled    with    planes    being    declared    excess    and transferred to other programs such as J-STARS. With   No.   374   now   sitting   at   Wright-Patterson,   only   two active   EC-18B,   which   are   being   used   primarily   by   the Navy for pilot training, represent ARIA’s 30-year history. However,   that   will   change   next   May   when   the   recently returned   EC-135E   will   be   officially   displayed   at   the   Air Force   Museum   during   a   ceremony   that   also   will   honor 21 ARIA crewmembers killed in an 1981 accident. Source: Desert Wings