Close-up of RC-135U Combat Sent’s cockpit and black nose, showing chin antennas, shark-mouth artwork, number 4847 and Air Combat Command insignia.

photo by Senior Airman Amber Mullen, 178th Wing, via DVIDS

Entered service 1971

RC-135U Combat Sent

An electronic reconnaissance aircraft that studies foreign radars to help other crews recognize and counter the threat.

The Inside Story

A radar signal carries clues about the system sending it. Combat Sent's specialists record those clues in detail for analysts to examine long after the flight. That knowledge helps develop equipment and techniques to warn crews, evade detection or defeat the radar.

What it studies

Radars on land, ships and aircraft

Look under the nose

Chin antennas help collect radar signals

Several at once

Locates and analyzes multiple signals

Meet the Ravens

The crew's electronic warfare officers