The US Air Force’s aging WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft will soon be able to freshen up their nuke-sniffing capabilities, thanks to new “harvester kits” with the ability to detect microscopic nuclear particles in the atmosphere.
In 2016, the USAF spent $10.1 million on two “Harvester Particulate Airborne Collection System” kits that can be strapped to WC-135 aircraft, Susan Romano, a spokesperson for the Air Force Technical Applications Center, said recently.
“Our mission capable rates, and more importantly our aircraft availability rates to go do this mission, are much lower than not only the secretary of defense but the combatant commander’s requirements for that mission,” Goldfein said. The Harvester kits, developed by the Sandia National Laboratory, may thus give the WC-135 planes the boost they need. – Sputnik
Featured image of a WC-135W Constant Phoenix aircraft performing touch ‘n go landing exercises Feb. 12 at Offutt Air Force Base, NE by U.S. Air Force photo/Josh Plueger
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