The global Rivet Joint fleet includes 17 RC-135V/W aircraft in U.S. Air Force service and another three flown by the Royal Air Force, and L3Harris now says those jets could command uncrewed aircraft to expand how and where they collect intelligence.
L3Harris frames crewed-uncrewed teaming as immediate and demonstrable
Jason Lambert, President for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) at L3Harris, told Jamie Hunter that the company is “currently in discussions right now to actually do demonstrations on that [crewed-uncrewed teaming] with the RC-135.” He emphasized that “the technology is actually there. It exists today. We just need to go demonstrate it.”
L3Harris has been talking with multiple, unspecified drone makers about teaming, and the firm highlighted its internal Broadband Communications Systems (BCS) business unit in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a provider of the secure datalinks the concept would require. Lambert stressed the practical next step: “The next question is how we actually go demonstrate that with a connected set of tissue in theater to be able to do that.”
How drones would change what RC-135V/Ws can collect
L3Harris describes several concrete collection advantages from pairing Rivet Joints with uncrewed teammates. Drones could fly beyond the Rivet Joint’s organic sensor ranges and the radio horizon, carry additional sensor types, and broaden the geographic area over which electronic emissions can be sampled. Multiple assets linked together would also improve radio geolocation through triangulation and allow crews to collect higher-fidelity data.
The information gathered by drones could be routed to the Rivet Joint crew, which includes signals specialists, electronic warfare experts, and linguists, for immediate analysis and onward dissemination to intelligence and command nodes. L3Harris notes the drones could also pass data to forces at or near the tactical edge.
Operational and tactical savings: distance, risk, and mission flexibility
Pairing uncrewed platforms with Rivet Joints is presented as a way to keep the large, highly sought-after RC-135s further from rising threats. L3Harris points to the growth of adversary anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) bubbles and “ever-longer-ranged anti-air missiles” that push Rivet Joints outward — including in “a high-end fight, such as one against China in the Pacific,” the company observed.
Stealthy drones could be sent into higher-risk zones; drones could also be configured for localized force protection, electronic warfare, or signal relay. L3Harris envisions networked groups — swarms or mix-missions of uncrewed teammates — offering concurrent tasks across a battlespace, potentially transforming the RC-135V/W from a narrowly focused ISR airliner into a more multi-purpose airborne hub.
AERIS-X, AI, and a larger architecture for command and control
Lambert linked the Rivet Joint concept to other L3Harris work, notably the Bombardier Global 6500-based AERIS-X being pursued for South Korea. He described AERIS-X as “essentially the hub-and-spoke system to be able to go operate as a network in theater,” and said the platform can flex operator counts as AI evolves: “The operator count is also a function of the AI evolution... being able to do the job of 10 or more with a group of six is very feasible with an AI technology platform.”
He also noted AERIS-X’s radar and ISR integrations — SAR/GMTI and standoff targeting — plus line-of-sight and satellite links for ground connectivity, and a complementary product called TOC-L, Tactical Operations Center-Light, to stitch together command and control across dispersed locations.
What this means for the U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force, and drone makers
- U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force crews: A potential route to extend collection reach while reducing risk to limited RC-135V/W assets; crews would receive and exploit drone-collected data “immediately,” according to L3Harris.
- Drone makers: Active partners in planned demonstrations — L3Harris says it has been “talking with multiple unspecified drone makers,” and those firms will need to integrate secure datalinks and interoperable sensors to fit the Rivet Joint playbook.
- L3Harris and defense integrators: A field-testing schedule and rapid upgrade cadence will be decisive. Lambert highlighted depot work in Greenville, Texas, where L3Harris swaps electronics and upgrades mission systems on RC-135s; the company says upgrades follow a “spiral” software schedule and that aircraft can be re-fielded after a “week to a month” for quick-turn upgrades.
The claim is straightforward: pairing Rivet Joints with uncrewed platforms could materially expand collection, improve geolocation, and reduce risk to scarce aircraft — but only if secure datalinks, operational demonstrations, and rapid software/hardware update cycles come together in theater. L3Harris has tied those pieces to current depot practices in Greenville and to broader products such as AERIS-X and TOC-L; the near-term milestone to watch is whether the planned demonstrations move from discussion to flight trials and whether the company’s BCS datalink solutions perform as promised.
Original reporting: https://www.twz.com/air/rc-135-rivet-joints-could-control-drones-to-drastically-expand-collection-capabilities
