ARIA History Website and Archive
United States Air Force
Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft
Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft
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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