11. Phoenix Constant WC-135W
Joined the Service in 1993
Not retired: N/A
Expense: *$208 million
This aircraft, which the USAF has been using since 1965, was inspired by the C-135 Stratolifer. The WC-135 Constant Phoenix, sometimes known as the “weather bird” or “sniffer” by programme staff and foreign media, serves a unique function. It is employed in the identification and detection of nuclear explosions.
WC-135W Constant Phoenix | Twitter.com / CivMilAir
There are extremely few of the Boeing WC-135—just 10 have been constructed, and only two are currently in use. An even more common variation of the WC-135 is the OC-135B Open Skies. When Cold War hostilities subsided in the early 1990s, the majority of the remaining ten WC-135s were put into storage.
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