August 1997
54
Cobra Ball
Graphic Illustration by Catherine Hammer
55
Cobra Ball
RC-135S Cobra Ball
Air Force’s optical intelligence collection platform
or three years in a row, the Co-
bra Ball aircrew has earned the
The Cobra Ball crew distinguished
itself by performing numerous aerial
reconnaissance missions of national-
level significance.
When the Joint Chiefs of Staff
tasked Cobra Ball for joint Navy/Air
Force Pony Express operations, they
were mobilized and deployed on
short notice to Kadena Air Base, Ja-
pan, in March.
While there, the Cobra Ball crew
monitored tensions between two
neighboring countries.
During the same deployment, the
crew was also tasked to fly a never-
attempted sortie to collect against a
high-priority, strategic launch system
from a different intelligence source.
The 97th IS’s operations tempo is
reaching the maximum capacity. Last
year, 133 Cobra Ball sorties were
flown, adding up to more than 1,097
flying hours.
Because the 97th also supports
other RC-135 missions like Rivet Joint
and Combat Sent, most of the air-
borne linguists are qualified for more
than one platform.
To qualify an airborne linguist on
Cobra Ball is difficult because they
have to be qualified on a real sortie,
with activity at their position. With
three other operators on-board, train-
ing is slightly easier compared to get-
ting a maintenance technician quali-
fied. Experienced airborne technicians
are in demand for Cobra Ball to en-
sure most equipment can be repaired.
Currently, the 97th supports two
Cobra Ball RC-135S’s. The addition
of a third Cobra Ball may make things
more difficult, said Lt. Col. Jim Glenn,
commander of the 97th IS.
“The ops tempo would increase
by 1.5. It would give us three on-
station so we could keep one in depot
maintenance and dedicate two crew
to each aircraft. Both could deploy
simultaneously and all three could
actually depart if the situation got
serious enough,” said Glenn.
In the future, the 97th Collection
Support Branch hopes to provide
quick-look analysis of Cobra Ball
dat