RC-26 Surveillance Aircraft – New Life For The Metroliner

RC-26 Surveillance Aircraft – New Life For The MetrolinerCourtesy Video 1st Combat Camera Squadron

Modified as the Fairchild Aircraft/Lockheed Multi Mission Surveillance Aircraft, featuring a Lockheed phased array radar in a long pod under the fuselage. Several aspects of the MMSA aircraft were incorporated on some USAF C-26s redesignated as the RC-26B, operated by the Air National Guard (ANG) in various states. These aircraft have been primarily used for Department of Defense reconnaissance mission support to various agencies of the Department of Homeland Security such as the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the War on Drugs, and to USCG and/or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the wake of natural disasters. The RC-26B aircraft were originally configured with a belly pod containing a sensor turret and a data recorder. Recently, this pod has been removed and a sensor turret has been added to the belly of the aircraft. – From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An Air Force RC-26 takes off during exercise Southern Strike 16 on Oct. 29th, 2015. Exercise Southern Strike 16 is a total force, multi-service training exercise hosted by the Mississippi Air National Guard’s Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport, Miss, from Oct. 26 through Nov. 6, 2015. The SS16 exercise emphasizes air-to-air, air-to-ground and special operations forces training opportunities. These events are integrated into demanding hostile and asymmetric scenarios with actions from specialized ground forces and combat mobility forces. (U.S. Air Force video by SSgt Aaron Richardson/Released).