Beavercreek Township in Riverside in Montgomery County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Boeing EC-135E ARIA
Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 28, 2025
1. Boeing EC-135E ARIA Marker
Inscription.
Boeing EC-135E ARIA. . During the early 1960s, NASA and the Department of Defense needed a mobile tracking and telemetry platform to support the Apollo space program and other unmanned space flight operations. In a joint project, NASA and the DoD contracted with the McDonnell Douglas and the Bendix Corporations to modify eight Boeing C-135 Stratolifter cargo aircraft into Apollo/Range Instrumentation Aircraft (A/RIA). Equipped with a steerable seven-foot antenna dish in its distinctive "Droop Snoot" or "Snoopy Nose," the EC-135N A/RIA became operational in January 1968. The Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR) at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, maintained and operated the A/RIA until the end of the Apollo program in 1972 when the USAF renamed it the Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA).
Transferred to the 4950th Test Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in December 1975 as part of an overall consolidation of large test and evaluation aircraft, the ARIA fleet underwent numerous conversions, including a re-engining that changed the EC-135N to the EC-135E. In 1994 the ARIA fleet relocated to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., as part of the 412th Test Wing. However, taskings for the ARIA dwindled because of high costs and improved satellite technology, and the USAF transferred the aircraft to other programs such as J-STARS (Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System).
On Nov. 3, 2000, a flight crew from the Air Force Flight Test Center delivered the last EC-135E (serial number 60-374, nicknamed Bird of Prey) to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Over its 32-year career, the ARIA supported the U.S. space program, gathered telemetry, verified international treaties and supported cruise missile and ballistic missile defense tests.
TECHNICAL NOTES
Crew: 11 Engine: Four Pratt and Whitney TF-33-PW-102 turbofans (JT3D) of 18,000 lbs. thrust each Range: 2800-4500 nautical miles without in-flight refueling (depending on mission and equipment carried) Weight: 300,500 lbs. maximum takeoff gross weight
During the early 1960s, NASA and the Department of Defense needed a mobile tracking and telemetry platform to support the Apollo space program and other unmanned space flight operations. In a joint project, NASA and the DoD contracted with the McDonnell Douglas and the Bendix Corporations to modify eight Boeing C-135 Stratolifter cargo aircraft into Apollo/Range Instrumentation Aircraft (A/RIA). Equipped with a steerable seven-foot antenna dish in its distinctive "Droop Snoot" or "Snoopy Nose," the EC-135N A/RIA became operational in January 1968. The Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR) at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., maintained and operated the A/RIA until the end of the Apollo program in 1972 when the USAF renamed it the Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA).
Transferred to the 4950th Test Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in December 1975 as part of an overall consolidation of large test and evaluation aircraft, the ARIA fleet underwent numerous conversions, including a re-engining that changed the EC-135N to the EC-135E. In 1994 the ARIA fleet relocated to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., as
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part of the 412th Test Wing. However, taskings for the ARIA dwindled because of high costs and improved satellite technology, and the USAF transferred the aircraft to other programs such as J-STARS (Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System).
On Nov. 3, 2000, a flight crew from the Air Force Flight Test Center delivered the last EC-135E (serial number 60-374, nicknamed Bird of Prey) to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Over its 32-year career, the ARIA supported the U.S. space program, gathered telemetry, verified international treaties and supported cruise missile and ballistic missile defense tests.
TECHNICAL NOTES
Crew: 11
Engine: Four Pratt & Whitney TF-33-PW-102 turbofans (JT3D) of 18,000 lbs. thrust each
Range: 2800-4500 nautical miles without in-flight refueling (depending on mission and equipment carried)
Weight: 300,500 lbs. maximum takeoff gross weight
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space.
Location. 39° 47.048′ N, 84° 6.513′ W. Marker is in Riverside, Ohio, in Montgomery County. It is in Beavercreek
Photographed by Pete Skillman, June 28, 2025
2. Boeing EC-135E ARIA Marker - wide view with aircraft
Township. It can be reached from Bong Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Bong St, Dayton OH 45431, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Dayton Metro and in the Miami Valley. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 30, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware. This page has been viewed 121 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on June 30, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.
