Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War

Page 237

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Rapid Deployment Force–RPG-7 Manportable Antitank Rocket Launcher

Rapid Deployment Force

See Carter Doctrine; U.S. Central Command.

RC-135W Rivet Joint

The RC-135W Rivet Joint, a derivation of the KC-135 tanker, flew 197 missions, all for the U.S. Air Force during Operation Desert Storm. The mission of the RC-135W is cloaked in secrecy; the U.S. military’s Gulf War Air Power Survey will merely say that “throughout Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Rivet Joint crews collected valuable information about enemy forces.” The same survey’s Summary Report says, “A second category of U.S. reconnaissance assets were the strategic airborne reconnaissance platforms, a group of nine RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft and nine U-2/TR-1 aircraft operated by [the] Strategic Air Command. These aircraft had sophisticated sensors for collecting imagery and electronic intelligence, but they were vulnerable while flying in Iraqi airspace.” Aviation Week & Space Technology called the plane a “signals intelligence aircraft which can monitor Iraqi communications.”

The Rivet Joint is one of several derivations of the KC-135 tanker. These include the RC-135A Looking Glass, used by the president and other top officials during a nuclear attack; the RC-135U Combat Scent, an ELINT/COMINT (electronic intelligence/communications intelligence) collection aircraft; and the RC-135V, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) aircraft whose mission remains a closely guarded secret.

See also

KC-135 Refueling Tanker.

References:

Almond, Denise L., ed., Desert Score: U.S. Gulf War Weapons (Washington, DC: Carroll Publishing, 1991), 135;

Gulf War Air Power Survey, Volume IV: Weapons, Tactics, and Training Report and Space Report (Washington, DC: GPO, 1993), 100;

Keany, Thomas A., and Eliot A. Cohen, Gulf War Air Power Survey, Summary Report (Washington, DC: GPO, 1993), 194;

“Special Mission Aircraft Support Desert Storm Air Campaign,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, 25 February 1991, 45.

Refueling Aircraft

See KC-10 Extender Refueling Tanker; KC-135 Refueling Tanker.

Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs)

A shorter-range RPV used during the Persian Gulf War in a limited capacity was the Pointer RPV. With a maximum flying time of one hour, a maximum range of up to 3 miles (5 km) from the operator, susceptibility to desert winds (because of its weight of about 50 pounds [23 kg]), and an altitude limit of 500 to 1,000 feet (152.5–305 m), the Pointer RPV had a limited scope and did not see much action.

See also

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

Repair Ships, United States

This class of ships, whose main task is to repair other ships on short notice in the area of assignment, was represented by the Vulcan (AR 5) and the Jason (AR 8), both of which arrived in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations (KTO) in January 1991; the Vulcan departed from the area on 15 February 1991. These ships displace 16,245 tons loaded; the Vulcan is 529.33 feet (161.4 m) in length, while the Jason is 530 feet (161.6 m) in length. Powered by two Allis Chalmers steam turbines (the Jason has New York Shipbuilding steam turbines) and four Babcock & Wilcox boilers, the ships have a maximum speed of 19.2 knots (22 mph; 36 km/h) and a range of 18,000 nautical miles (33,336 km) at 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h). Complement for the Vulcan is 593 (including 23 officers); for the Jason it is 888

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