Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/DARP01/ — built September 26, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
RC-135
Budget figures
FY2026 award data is a partial year — USAspending reports awards on a rolling basis, and this corpus runs through 2026-09-04. why partial FY2026 data? →
Budget trajectory
| Fiscal year | Amount |
|---|---|
| FY24 | $220.1M |
| FY25 | $242.1M |
| FY26 | $231.0M |
All series figures: P-1 TOA · PB2026
Decade view
P-1/R-1 workbook TOA basis, shown compact in $B/$M (the workbook records USD thousands); each figure cites its own President's Budget edition
The vertical scale does not start at zero: the baseline sits just below this program’s smallest year, so a low point on this line is not a small amount. Read the shape for direction and the grid below for the figures.
● actuals (line) · ○ enacted · ◇ request — gaps are editions the program is absent from, never interpolated.
| Series | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actuals | $213.5M | $234.2M | $220.1M | ||
| Enacted | – | $213.4M | $220.1M | $242.1M | |
| Request | – | – | $220.1M | $223.0M | $231.0M |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2024 book requested $220.1M for FY2024; the PB2026 book reported $220.1M as actual total obligation authority — $17.0K below the request. 220.1 − 220.1 = -0.0 USD millions — the compact figures above are rounded for reading.
Program lineage
No predecessor/successor lineage was recorded for this program element — no FY-to-FY transfer into or out of this line was stated in the ingested J-books, and none was inferred from the program structure.
Description
Description — RC-135
The USAF's Manned Reconnaissance Systems program includes seventeen (17) RC-135V/W RIVET JOINT, three (3) RC-135S COBRA BALL and two (2) RC-135U COMBAT SENT mission aircraft performing Air Combat Command (ACC) operational missions. The RC-135V/W RIVET JOINT is the majority variant that drives the Baseline integration and modification upgrade strategy for the entire RC-135 fleet. Therefore, a significant amount of the modification budget is directly related to RIVET JOINT weapon system baseline strategy enhancements which subsequently transfer into the follow-on baseline strategy enhancements for the COBRA BALL and COMBAT SENT weapon systems. RC-135 Viability Assessments in 2008, 2012, and 2019 reported that despite the fleet average airframe age (57 years) and accumulated flight hours (42,740) as of the end of FY 2018, the RC-135 should be able to continue to meet the user's needs by performing intended operations through at least 2050. Viability was assessed based on underlying analyses of reliability, maintainability, performance, corrosion, fatigue, architectural stability, safety and availability. The Viability Assessment also summarized that the RC-135 fleet has experienced significant improvements in reliability, maintainability and availability since FY 2001. The Program Manager attributes these improvements directly to the 645th Aeronautical Systems Group's (645 AESG) Baseline integration and spiral modification upgrade strategy and synergies gained with long-standing relationships with the RC-135 industry partners. The RIVET JOINT Baseline integration efforts of Baselines 12 and 13 which started in early FY19, address the 2012 RC-135 Multi-Attribute Utility Assessment (MUA) that detailed operational effectiveness, cost and program analyses of the alternative weapon system configurations. The MUA determined that retaining and sustaining the RC-135V/W airframe offers the highest assessed weapons system utility (measured as a benefit of cost-to-risk ratio) over the 25-year assessment period. Funding for this exhibit is contained in PE 0305207F.
Justification
Justification — RC-135
FY26 procurement funding will concentrate on three major efforts: (1) initiate the integration and testing of Baseline 15, (2) continue the conversion of Baseline 12 aircraft into Baseline 14 aircraft, and (3) start the conversion of Baseline 13 aircraft into Baseline 15 aircraft. Nine USAD RIVET JOINT aircraft are projected to receive the Baseline 14 configuration and eight USAF RIVET JOINT aircraft are projected to receive the Baseline 15 configuration. During this same period, COMBAT SENT will complete the conversion of the Baseline 5 aircraft to Baseline 6, and the COBRA BALL complete integration and testing of Baseline 14. The COMBAT SENT and COBRA BALL baselines closely align with RIVET JOINT Baseline 14. Additionally, FY26 procurement will ensure integration and fielding updates to the RC-135 ground systems, which include RIVET JOINT Ground Data Processing Systems (GDPS), Distributed Mission Shelters (DMS), Mission Crew Training Systems (MCTS), Airborne Capabilities Extension System (ACES) and Operational Flight Trainers (OFT). The ground systems are upgraded to remain consistent with the fielded aircraft configurations to allow for training and qualification of the aircrew and maintenance personnel assigned, plus verification and certification of software builds that are continuously modified to address the dynamic mission requirements of these weapons systems. Due to the changing threat and rapidly evolving near peer electromagnetic combat environment, the acquisition program manager has the authority to redirect funding as necessary to meet current and emerging Combatant Commander and/or Intelligence Community requirements to better meet the war fighting objectives.
Budget line items(workbook-cited)
P-1/R-1 workbook Total Obligation Authority basis (USD thousands) · PB2026.
Exhibit P-1
| Account | Org | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY24 Actuals | $220.1M |
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY25 Enacted | $242.1M |
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY26 Disc. Request | $231.0M |
| Aircraft Procurement, Air Force | F | FY26 Total | $231.0M |
Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)
J-book detail basis (R-2/P-40, USD millions) · PB2026 — a different accounting basis from the P-1/R-1 workbook TOA above; where the two disagree, the reconciliation strip under Budget figures shows both.
Wider than this screen — swipe the table sideways for the remaining fiscal-year columns.
| Project | All Prior Years | FY24 Actuals | FY25 Total | FY26 Base | FY26 Request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Element | $1.85B | $220.1M | $242.1M | $231.0M | $231.0M |
Follow the dollar
No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 312 of 1,938 programs). why coverage is partial? →
Awards
No awards are linked to this program element at high or medium confidence — the budget→award crosswalk only asserts links it can defend, and this line has none yet.
Lobbying mentions
No Senate LDA lobbying filing in the tracked data mentions this program element by code or alias.
Oversight
Department-level designation (not specific to this program)
GAO lists 5 high-risk areas for DOD as a whole. That designation covers the department, not RC-135. No program-specific GAO finding for this line is in the ingested data. See the DOD oversight record.
Program dossier
No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 1,938 programs, the largest fully J-book-detailed lines by FY2026 requested dollars. why no dossier here? →
Primary sources
Open any budget figure for its exact receipt. Verified line items lead with the highlighted government PDF; original spreadsheets download with their budget edition and exhibit in the filename.
Budget totals · TOA sources
FY2026 Department of Defense Budget: Procurement Programs (P-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit P-1 · O900
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2026_DoD_P-1_Procurement.xlsx.
FY2024 Department of Defense Budget: Procurement Programs (P-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit P-1 · O871
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2024_DoD_P-1_Procurement.xlsx.
FY2025 Department of Defense Budget: Procurement Programs (P-1) · comptroller.war.gov
Exhibit P-1 · O917
Complete workbook · unchanged saved copy. Saves as PB2025_DoD_P-1_Procurement.xlsx.
Detailed budget justification
The related TOA spreadsheets above use a different accounting basis from R-2/P-40 detail. Their amounts are not assumed to match these detailed sources.
FY2026 Air Force Aircraft Procurement, Vol. I · www.saffm.hq.af.mil